Extended scenarios for solar radio emissions with downshifted electron beam plasma excitations

Abstract

First-principle studies of radiative processes aimed at explaining the origin of type II and type III solar radio bursts raise questions on the implications of downshifted electron beam plasma excitations with frequency (slightly) below the plasma frequency ($ω\lesssimω_{pe}$) in the generation of radio emissions. Unlike the beam-induced Langmuir waves ($ω\gtrsim ω_{pe}$) in the standard radio emission plasma model, the primary wave excitations of cooler and/or denser beams have predominantly downshifted frequencies. Broadbands of such downshifted excitations are also confirmed by in situ observations in association with terrestrial foreshock and electron beams (in contrast to narrowband Langmuir waves), but their involvement in radiative processes has not been examined so far. We revisit three radiative scenarios specific to downshifted primary excitations, and the results demonstrate their direct or indirect involvement in plasma radio emission. Downshifted excitations of an electron beam primarily play an indirect role, contributing to the relaxation to a plateau-on-tail still able to induce Langmuir beam waves that satisfy conditions for nonlinear wave-wave interactions leading to free radio waves. At longer time scales, the primary excitations can become predominantly downshifted, and then directly couple with the secondary (backscattered) Langmuir waves to generate the second harmonic of radio emissions. Two counterbeams are more efficient and lead to faster radiative mechanisms, involving counterpropagating downshifted excitations, which couple to each other and generate intense, broadband and isotropic radio spectra of downshifted second harmonics. Such a long-lasting (second) radio harmonic can thus be invoked to distinguish regimes with downshifted ($ω\gtrsim ω_{pe}$) primary excitations.