A model of so-called `Zebra' emissions in solar flare radio burst continua

A simple mechanism for the generation of electromagnetic “Zebra” pattern emissions is proposed. “Zebra” bursts are regularly spaced narrow-band radio emissions on the otherwise broadband radio continuum emitted by the active solar corona. The mechanism is based on the generation of an ion-ring distribution in a magnetic mirror geometry in the presence of a properly directed field-aligned electric potential field. Such ion-rings or ion-conics are well known from magnetospheric observations. Under coronal conditions they may become weakly relativistic. In this case the ion-cyclotron maser generates a number of electromagnetic ion-cyclotron harmonics which modulate the electron maser emission. The mechanism is capable of switching the emission on and off or amplifying it quasi-periodically which is a main feature of the observations.

@article{id1668,
  author = {Treumann, R. A. and Nakamura, R. and Baumjohann, W.},
  doi = {10.5194/angeo-29-1673-2011},
  journal = {Annales Geophysicae},
  language = {en},
  note = {10 pages, 6 Figures},
  number = {1673-1682},
  pages = {arXiv:1104.2586v1 [physics.space-ph]},
  title = {A model of so-called `Zebra' emissions in solar flare radio burst continua},
  url = {http://arxiv.org/pdf/1104.2586v1},
  volume = {29},
  year = {2011},
}

%O Journal Article
%A Treumann, R. A.
%A Nakamura, R.
%A Baumjohann, W.
%R 10.5194/angeo-29-1673-2011
%J Annales Geophysicae
%G en
%O 10 pages, 6 Figures
%N 1673-1682
%P arXiv:1104.2586v1 [physics.space-ph]
%T A model of so-called `Zebra' emissions in solar flare radio burst continua
%U http://arxiv.org/pdf/1104.2586v1
%V 29
%D 2011