Atmospheric waves disturbances from the solar terminator according to the VLF radio stations data

The perturbations from the solar terminator in the range of acoustic-gravity waves (AGWs) periods from 5 minutes to 1 hour were analysed with the use of measurements of VLF radio signals amplitudes on the European radio path GQD--A118 (Great Britain--France). These observations provide information on the propagation of waves at altitudes near the mesopause ($\sim$ 90 km), where VLF radio waves are reflected. On the considered radio path a systematic increase in fluctuations in the amplitudes of radio waves was observed within a few hours after the passage of the evening terminator. For April, June, October 2020 and February 2021 events, the distribution of the number of wave perturbations with large amplitudes over AGWs time periods has been studied. Our results show that the evening terminator for different seasons is dominated by waves in the range of periods of 15--20 minutes. The amplitudes of the AGWs from the terminator at the heights of the mesosphere (fluctuations in the concentration of neutral particles, velocity components and vertical displacement of the volume element) are approximately determined by the fluctuations of the amplitudes of the VLF radio signals. The amplitudes of the AGWs on the terminator are 12--14\% in relative concentration fluctuations, which correspond to the vertical displacement of the atmospheric gas volume of 1.1--1.3 km. Based on the analysis of the AGW energy balance equation, it was concluded that the waves predominantly propagate in a quasi-horizontal direction at the terminator. The possibility of studying the long-term changes in the mesosphere parameters using fluctuations in the amplitudes of VLF radio waves at the terminator is shown

The ion-acoustic instability in the pre-flare plasma near the loop footpoints at solar active regions

The necessary physical conditions for development of the ion-acoustic instability in the chromospheric part of a flaring loop current circuit are investigated. Two possible scenarios have been studied. First, we consider that pre-flare loop plasma with the large-scale sub-Dreicer electric field has a classical Coulomb conductivity and, second, when anomalous resistance appears due to saturation of Bernstein turbulence. The Fontenla-Avrett-Loeser (FAL) model of the solar atmosphere was used to describe the pre-flare plasma. We have shown that investigated instability can grow and develop either in the presence of the Coulomb conductivity or saturated Bernstein turbulence. We demonstrate that in the case of small-scale instability, the threshold value for the degree of nonisothermality is high and, therefore, cannot be reached by inclusion of the ordinary Joule heating. The ion-acoustic instability can develop at the pre-flare loop footpoints provided the electrons are more than 10 times hotter than the ions there. © Author(s) 2013

Generation of low-frequency kinetic waves at the footpoints of pre-flare coronal loops

In this study we discuss the excitation of low-frequency plasma waves in the lower-middle chromosphere region of loop footpoints for the case when the plasma can be considered to be in a pre-flare state. It is shown that among the well-known semi-empirical models of the solar atmosphere, only the VAL (F) model together with a particular set of basic plasma parameters and amplitudes of the electric and magnetic fields supports generation of low-frequency wave instability. Our results show that it is possible to predict the onset of the flare process in the active region by using the interaction of kinetic Alfvén and kinetic ion-acoustic waves, which are solutions of the derived dispersion equation. The VAL (F) model allows situations when the main source of the aforementioned instability can be a sub-Dreicer electric field and drift plasma movements due to presence of spatial inhomogeneities. We also show that the generation of kinetic Alfvén and kinetic ion-acoustic waves can occur both, in plasma with a purely Coulomb conductivity and in the presence of small-scale Bernstein turbulence. The excitation of the small amplitude kinetic waves due to the development of low threshold instability in plasma with relatively low values of the magnetic field strength is also discussed

Atmospheric waves disturbances from the solar terminator according to the VLF radio stations data

The perturbations from the solar terminator in the range of acoustic-gravity waves (AGWs) periods from 5 min to 1 h were analysed with the use of measurements of VLF radio signals amplitudes on the European radio path GQD–A118 (Great Britain–France). These observations provide information on the propagation of waves at altitudes near the mesopause ( 90 km), where VLF radio waves are reflected. On the considered radio path a systematic increase in fluctuations in the amplitudes of radio waves was observed within a few hours after the passage of the evening terminator. For April, June, October 2020 and February 2021 events, the distribution of the number of wave perturbations with large amplitudes over AGWs time periods has been studied. Our results show that the evening terminator for different seasons is dominated by waves in the range of periods of 15–20 min. The amplitudes of the AGWs from the terminator at the heights of the mesosphere (fluctuations in the concentration of neutral particles, velocity components and vertical displacement of the volume element) are approximately determined by the fluctuations of the amplitudes of the VLF radio signals. The amplitudes of the AGWs on the terminator are 12–14% in relative concentration fluctuations, which correspond to the vertical displacement of the atmospheric gas volume of 1.1–1.3 km. Based on the analysis of the AGW energy balance equation, it was concluded that the waves predominantly propagate in a quasi-horizontal direction at the terminator. The possibility of studying the long-term changes in the mesosphere parameters using fluctuations in the amplitudes of VLF radio waves at the terminator is shown