Search

Measurements of the plasma parameters of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), particularly the magnetic field and nonthermal electron population entrained in the CME plasma, are crucial to understand their propagation, evolution, and geo-effectiveness. Spectral modeling of gyrosynchrotron (GS) emission from CME plasma has been regarded as one of the most promising remote-sensing techniques for estimating spatially resolved CME plasma parameters. Imaging the very low flux density CME GS emission in close proximity to the Sun with orders of magnitude higher flux density has, however, proven to be rather challenging. This challenge has only recently been met using the high dynamic range imaging capability of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). Although routine detection of GS is now within reach, the challenge has shifted to constraining the large number of free parameters in GS models, a few of which are degenerate, using the limited number of spectral points at which the observations are typically available. These degeneracies can be broken using polarimetric imaging. For the first time, we demonstrate this using our recently developed capability of high-fidelity polarimetric imaging on the data from the MWA. We show that spectropolarimetric imaging, even when only sensitive upper limits on circularly polarization flux density are available, is not only able to break the degeneracies but also yields tighter constraints on the plasma parameters of key interest than possible with total intensity spectroscopic imaging alone., Published at the Astrophysical Journal (23 pages, 15 figures, 3 tables)

Type II solar radio bursts are caused by magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) shocks driven by solar eruptive events such as Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs). Often both fundamental and harmonic bands of type II bursts are split into sub-bands, generally believed to be coming from upstream and downstream regions of the shock; however this explanation remains unconfirmed. Here we present combined results from imaging analysis of type II radio burst band-splitting and other fine structures, observed by the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) and extreme ultraviolet observations from Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on 2014-Sep-28. The MWA provides imaging-spectroscopy in the range of 80-300 MHz with a time resolution of 0.5 s and frequency resolution of 40 kHz. Our analysis shows that the burst was caused by a piston-driven shock with a driver speed of $\sim$112 km s$^{-1}$ and shock speed of $\sim$580 km s$^{-1}$. We provide rare evidence that band-splitting is caused by emission from multiple parts of the shock (as opposed to the upstream/downstream hypothesis). We also examine the small-scale motion of type II fine structure radio sources in MWA images. We suggest that this small-scale motion may arise due to radio propagation effects from coronal turbulence, and not because of the physical motion of the shock location. We present a novel technique that uses imaging spectroscopy to directly determine the effective length scale of turbulent density perturbations, which is found to be 1 - 2 Mm. The study of the systematic and small-scale motion of fine structures may therefore provide a measure of turbulence in different regions of the shock and corona., 10 pages, 8 figures, Astronomy & Astrophysics journal (accepted)

In this work we study a class of recently discovered metrewave solar transients referred to as Weak Impulsive Narrowband Quiet Sun Emission \citep[WINQSEs,][]{mondal2020}. Their strength is a few percent of the quiet Sun background and are characterised by their very impulsive, narrow-band and ubiquitous presence in quiet Sun regions. \citet{mondal2020} hypothesised that these emissions might be the radio counterparts of the nanoflares and their potential significance warrants detailed studies. Here we present an analysis of data from an extremely quiet time and with an improved methodology over the previous work. As before, we detect numerous WINQSEs, which we have used for their further characterisation. Their key properties, namely, their impulsive nature and ubiquitous presence on the quiet Sun are observed in these data as well. Interestingly, we also find some of the observed properties to differ significantly from the earlier work. With this demonstration of routine detection of WINQSEs, we hope to engender interest in the larger community to build a deeper understanding of WINQSEs., Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

In order to deliver the full science potential of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) telescope, several SKA Regional Centres (SRCs) will be required to be constructed in different SKA member countries around the world. These SRCs will provide high performance compute and storage for the generation of advanced science data products from the basic data streams generated by the SKA Science Data Handling and Processing system, critically necessary to the success of the key science projects to be carried out by the SKA user community. They will also provide support to astronomers to enable them to carry out analysis on very large SKA datasets. Construction of such large data centres is a technical challenge for all SKA member nations. In such a situation, each country plans to construct a smaller SRC over the next few years (2022 onwards), known as a proto-SRC. In India, we propose to construct a proto-SRC which will be used for the analysis of data from SKA pathfinders and precursors with strong Indian involvement such as uGMRT, Meerkat and MWA. We describe our thinking on some aspects of the the storage, compute and network of the proto-SRC and how it will be used for data analysis as well as for carrying out various simulations related to SKA key science projects led by Indian astronomers. We also present our thoughts on how the proto-SRC plans to evaluate emerging hardware and software technologies and to also begin software development in areas of relevance to SKA data processing and analysis such as algorithm implementation, pipeline development and data visualisation software., 7 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication for the special issue on "Indian participation in the SKA" in the Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy (JoAA)

Magnetic field couples the solar interior to the solar atmosphere, known as the corona. The coronal magnetic field is one of the crucial parameters which determines the coronal structures and regulates the space weather phenomena like flares, coronal mass ejections, energetic particle events, and solar winds. Measuring the magnetic field at middle and higher coronal heights are extremely difficult problem and to date there is no single measurement technique available to measure the higher coronal magnetic fields routinely. polarization measurements of the low-frequency radio emissions are an ideal tool to probe the coronal magnetic fields at higher coronal heights ($>1R_\odot$). To date, most of the low-frequency polarization observations of the Sun were limited to bright solar radio bursts. Here we developed a novel algorithm for performing precise polarization calibration of the solar observations done with the Murchison Widefield Array, a future Square Kilometer Array (SKA) precursor. We have brought down the instrumental polarization $, Published in: 2022 3rd URSI Atlantic and Asia Pacific Radio Science Meeting (AT-AP-RASC)

Coronal magnetic fields are well known to be one of the crucial parameters defining coronal physics and space weather. However, measuring the global coronal magnetic fields remains challenging. The polarization properties of coronal radio emissions are sensitive to coronal magnetic fields. While they can prove to be useful probes of coronal and heliospheric magnetic fields, their usage has been limited by technical and algorithmic challenges. We present a robust algorithm for precise polarization calibration and imaging of low-radio frequency solar observations and demonstrate it on data from the Murchison Widefield Array, a Square Kilometer Array (SKA) precursor. This algorithm is based on the Measurement Equation framework, which forms the basis of all modern radio interferometric calibration and imaging. It delivers high dynamic range and fidelity full Stokes solar radio images with instrumental polarization leakages $, 27 pages, 9 figures, Published at the Astrophysical Journal

Type III solar radio bursts form a well known class of active solar emissions and are associated with energetic electron beams propagation outwards through the coronal plasma, and in the process giving rise to their characteristic rapid spectral drifts. Though they have been the subject of a large number of studies since their discovery in the 1950s, the high fidelity and dynamic range spectroscopic snapshot images from the new technology instruments, like the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) are enabling the exploration of a previously inaccessible part of phase space and leading to the discovery of previously unknown aspects of these well known bursts even in recent times (e.g. Mohan et al., 2019, ApJ, 875). We have now developed a robust and general full Stokes polarization calibration and imaging algorithm optimized for MWA solar observations.. Referred to as “Polarimetry using Automated Imaging Routine for Compact Arrays for the Radio Sun'' (P-AIRCARS; Kansabanik et al., 2022, in prep.), it can deliver full Stokes solar images with leakages on par with usual astronomical radio maps. Here we use this novel capability to carry out a detailed polarimetric study of a type III solar radio burst observed with the MWA. This is, once again, enabling an exploration of new phase space with an exciting discovery potential. Preliminary results show that these type III bursts show presence of linearly polarized emission. While conventional wisdom says that all traces of linear polarization should get washed out due to differential Faraday rotation in the corona, we have convincing reasons to believe that this emission is solar in origin. Here we present the current status of our first detailed polarimetric imaging study oa this type III radio source.

The solar coronal heating problem has been around for several decades. While it has been well established that magnetic fields are responsible for transporting the energy from the photosphere to the corona, it has been a challenge to understand the details of the energy dissipation processes. One such process was proposed by Parker, who hypothesized that this dissipation occurs through small scale magnetic reconnections happening throughout the corona. While there are several indications that this mechanism may be active, till date direct observation of these small reconnections have not been possible. Hence searching for indirect signatures of these events is very important. One such probable signature was discovered by Mondal et al. (2020), where they demonstrated the presence of ubiquitous impulsive radio emissions in the solar corona during a very quiet time. These emissions are now named Weak Impulsive Narrowband Quiet Sun Emissions (WINQSEs). Due to the potential importance of this discovery and its implications, it is crucial that the detection techniques are improved and that we search for these transients in more datasets to confirm/reject their ubiquitous nature. In this work, we have developed a machine learning (ML) algorithm suitable for identifying and characterising the spatial distribution and morphology of WINQSEs. For morphological characterisation we use 2D Gaussians which are found to describe the brightness distribution of the majority of these transients very well. Since WINQSEs are expected to be the radio counterparts of the weak reconnections, we expected them to be essentially unresolved at an angular resolution of 3.5 arcminutes. We find, however, that most of the WINQSEs are resolved by the instrument, though the distribution of their area is very steep. We hypothesise that while intrinsically unresolved, the area of WINQSEs becomes large due to coronal scattering effects. This then also presents the exciting possibility of using WINQSEs to regularly study the nature of scattering close to the Sun, which currently is only possible during solar radio bursts. Here we present a quick overview of our ML algorithm, along with a summary of our results about the morphological properties of WINQSEs, and explore the possibility of using them to study coronal scattering.

The confluence of the data from the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) and an imaging pipeline tailored for spectroscopic snapshot images of the Sun at low radio frequencies have led to enormous improvements in the imaging quality of the Sun. Among other science advances, these developments have lowered the detection threshold for weak nonthermal emissions by up to two orders of magnitude as compared to earlier studies, and have enabled our discovery of Weak Impulsive Narrowband Quiet Sun Emissions (WINQSEs). Their typical flux densities lie in the range of a few mSFU (1 SFU = 10,000 Jy) and they are found to occur in large numbers all over the quiet Sun regions. In the solar radio images, they appear as compact sources and our estimate of their median duration is limited by the instrumental resolution of 0.5 s. Their spatial distribution and various other properties are consistent with being the radio signatures of coronal nanoflares hypothesized by Parker (1988) to explain coronal heating in the quiet Sun emissions. As steps towards exploring this tantalising possibility of making progress on the coronal heating problem, we have been pursuing multiple projects to improve our ability to detect and characterise WINQSEs. These include attempts to look for WINQSEs in multiple independent datasets; using different independent detection techniques; attempting to characterise their morphologies in radio maps using Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning based approaches; looking for their counter parts in EUV wavelengths; estimating the energy associated with groups of WINQSEs; and investigation of the spectro-temporal structure of WINQSEs. Here we present the current status of these projects and summarise our learnings from them.

Magnetic field measurements at middle and higher coronal heights are challenging using conventional techniques with observations at visible or extreme ultra-violet wavelengths. Low radio frequencies are ideal for probing magnetic fields at higher coronal heights. Polarization properties of solar radio emissions are known to be a rich source of information about the emission mechanisms and magnetic fields of the corona. Nonetheless, largely due to technical challenges, precise polarimetric solar observations at low radio frequencies have remained challenging. The degree of polarization of solar radio emission varies dramatically over time, frequency, and also in morphology, depending on the emission mechanism. The radio bursts show a moderate to a high degree of circular polarization, while the quiet sun thermal emissions show a very low degree of circular polarization (

Sensitive radio instruments are optimized for observing faint astronomical sources, and usually need to attenuate the received signal when observing the Sun. There are only a handful of flux density calibrators which can comfortably be observed with the same attenuation setup as the Sun. Additionally, for wide field-of-view (FoV) instruments like the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) calibrator observations are generally done when the Sun is below the horizon to avoid the contamination from solar emissions. These considerations imply that the usual radio interferometric approach to flux density calibration is not applicable for solar imaging. A novel technique, relying on a good sky model and detailed characterization of the MWA hardware, was developed for solar flux density calibration for MWA. Though successful, this technique is not general enough to be extended to the data from the extended configuration of the MWA Phase II. Here, we present a robust flux density calibration method for solar observations with MWA independent of the array configuration. We use different approaches -- the serendipitous presence of strong sources; detection of numerous background sources using high dynamic range images in the FoV along with the Sun and observations of strong flux density calibrators with and without the additional attenuation used for solar observations; to obtain the flux scaling parameters required for the flux density calibration. Using the present method, we have achieved an absolute flux density uncertainty $\sim10\%$ for solar observations even in the absence of dedicated calibrator observations., 17 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables, Published in the Astrophysical Journal

The Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) is perhaps the most ambitious radio telescope envisaged yet. It will enable unprecedented studies of the Sun, the corona and the heliosphere and help to answer many of the outstanding questions in these areas. Its ability to make a vast previously unexplored phase space accessible, also promises a large discovery potential. The Indian solar and heliospheric physics community have been preparing for this science opportunity. A significant part of this effort has been towards playing a leading role in pursuing science with SKAO precursor instruments. This article briefly summarises the current status of the various aspects of work done as a part of this enterprise and our future goals., Comment: 34 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics

The dynamics and the structure of the solar corona are determined by its magnetic field. Measuring coronal magnetic fields is, however, extremely hard. The polarization of low-frequency radio emissions has long been recognized as one of the few effective observational probes of magnetic fields in the mid and high corona. However, the extreme intrinsic variability of this emission, the limited ability of most of the available existing instrumentation (until recently) to capture it, and the technical challenges involved have all contributed to its use being severely limited. The high dynamic-range spectropolarimetric snapshot imaging capability that is needed for radio coronal magnetography is now within reach. This has been enabled by the confluence of data from the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), a Square Kilometre Array (SKA) precursor, and our unsupervised and robust polarization calibration and imaging software pipeline dedicated to the Sun-Polarimetry using the Automated Imaging Routine for Compact Arrays of the Radio Sun (P-AIRCARS). Here, we present the architecture and implementation details of P-AIRCARS. Although the present implementation of P-AIRCARS is tuned to the MWA, the algorithm itself can easily be adapted for future arrays, such as SKA1-Low. We hope and expect that P-AIRCARS will enable exciting new science with instruments like the MWA, and that it will encourage the wider use of radio imaging in the larger solar physics community., Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures, 1 table. Published at the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series

A ubiquitous presence of weak energy releases is one of the most promising hypotheses to explain coronal heating, referred to as the nanoflare hypothesis. The accelerated electrons associated with such weak heating events are also expected to give rise to coherent impulsive emission via plasma instabilities in the meterwave radio band, making this a promising spectral window to look for their presence. Recently Mondal et al. reported the presence of weak and impulsive emissions from quiet Sun regions which seem to meet the requirements of being radio counterparts of the hypothesized nanoflares. Detection of such low-contrast weak emission from the quiet Sun is challenging and, given their implications, it is important to confirm their presence. In this work, using data from the Murchison Widefield Array, we explore the use of an independent robust approach for their detection by separating the dominant, slowly varying component of emission from the weak impulsive one in the visibility domain. We detect milli-Solar Flux Unit-level bursts taking place all over the Sun and characterize their brightness temperatures, distributions, morphologies, durations, and associations with features seen in extreme-UV images. We also attempt to constrain the energies of the nonthermal particles using inputs from the FORWARD coronal model along with some reasonable assumptions, and find them to lie in the subpico flare (∼1019–1021 erg) range. In the process, we also discover perhaps the weakest type III radio burst and another that shows clear signatures of the weakest quasi-periodic pulsations.

We present a multi-wavelength investigation of a C-class flaring activity that occurred in the active region NOAA 12734 on 8 March 2019. The investigation utilises data from AIA and HMI on board the SDO and the Udaipur-CALLISTO solar radio spectrograph of the Physical Research Laboratory. This low intensity C1.3 event is characterised by typical features of a long duration event (LDE), viz. extended flare arcade, large-scale two-ribbon structures and twin coronal dimmings. The eruptive event occurred in a coronal sigmoid and displayed two distinct stages of energy release, manifested in terms of temporal and spatial evolution. The formation of twin dimming regions are consistent with the eruption of a large flux rope with footpoints lying in the western and eastern edges of the coronal sigmoid. The metric radio observations obtained from Udaipur-CALLISTO reveals a broad-band ($\approx$50-180 MHz), stationary plasma emission for $\approx$7 min during the second stage of the flaring activity that resemble a type IV radio burst. A type III decametre-hectometre radio bursts with starting frequency of $\approx$2.5 MHz precedes the stationary type IV burst observed by Udaipur-CALLISTO by $\approx$5 min. The synthesis of multi-wavelength observations and Non-Linear Force Free Field (NLFFF) coronal modelling together with magnetic decay index analysis suggests that the sigmoid flux rope underwent a zipping-like uprooting from its western to eastern footpoints in response to the overlying asymmetric magnetic field confinement. The asymmetrical eruption of the flux rope also accounts for the observed large-scale structures viz. apparent eastward shift of flare ribbons and post flare loops along the polarity inversion line (PIL), and provides an evidence for lateral progression of magnetic reconnection site as the eruption proceeds., 30 pages, 14 figures, 1 table; accepted for publication in Solar Physics

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be the largest radio telescope ever built, aiming to provide collecting area larger than 1 km$^2$. The SKA will have two independent instruments, SKA-LOW comprising of dipoles organized as aperture arrays in Australia and SKA-MID comprising of dishes in South Africa. Currently the phase-1 of SKA, referred to as SKA1, is in its late design stage and construction is expected to start in 2020. Both SKA1-LOW (frequency range of 50-350 MHz) and SKA1-MID Bands 1, 2, and 5 (frequency ranges of 350-1050, 950-1760, and 4600-15300 MHz, respectively) are important for solar observations. In this paper we present SKA's unique capabilities in terms of spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution, as well as sensitivity and show that they have the potential to provide major new insights in solar physics topics of capital importance including (i) the structure and evolution of the solar corona, (ii) coronal heating, (iii) solar flare dynamics including particle acceleration and transport, (iv) the dynamics and structure of coronal mass ejections, and (v) the solar aspects of space weather. Observations of the Sun jointly with the new generation of ground-based and space-borne instruments promise unprecedented discoveries., Comment: Accepted for publication in Advances in Space Research

The perplexing mystery of what maintains the solar coronal temperature at about a million K, while the visible disc of the Sun is only at 5800 K, has been a long standing problem in solar physics. A recent study by Mondal et al. (2020, ApJ, 895, L39) has provided the first evidence for the presence of numerous ubiquitous impulsive emissions at low radio frequencies from the quiet sun regions, which could hold the key to solving this mystery. These Weak Impulsive Narrowband Quiet Sun Emissions (WINQSEs) occur at rates of about five hundred events per minute, and their strength is only a few percent of the background steady emission. Based on earlier work with events of larger flux densities and theoretical considerations, WINQSEs are expected to be compact in the image plane. To characterise the spatial structure of WINQSEs, we have developed a pipeline based on an unsupervised machine learning approach. We first identify the boundaries of the radio sun using edge detection techniques, and detect peaks within the solar boundary. Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Application with Noise (DBSCAN), an unsupervised machine learning algorithm, is used to classify the peaks as isolated or clustered. It is also used to find the optimal hyper-parameters for peak-fitting. The peaks are then fit with Gaussian models, and statistical and heuristic filtering criteria are used to obtain robust fits for a subset of these WINQSEs . We find that the vast majority of WINQSEs can be described by well behaved compact Gaussians. By its very design, this approach is focused on morphological characterisation of these weak features and is better suited for identifying them than earlier attempts. We present here our first results of the observed distributions of intensities, sizes and axial ratios of the Gaussian models for WINQSEs arrived at from analysis of multiple independent datasets.

Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are large-scale explosive eruptions of magnetised plasma from the Sun into the Heliosphere. Measuring the physical parameters of CMEs is crucial for understanding their physics and for assessing their geo-effectiveness. Radio observations offer the most direct means for estimating these plasma parameters when gyrosynchrotron (GS) emission is detected from the CME plasma. However, since the first detection by Bastian et al.2001, only a handful of studies have successfully detected GS emission from CME plasma. This is usually attributed to the challenges involved in obtaining the high dynamic range imaging required for observing this faint gyrosynchrotron emission in the vicinity of active solar emissions.The newly developed imaging pipeline (Mondal et al., 2019) designed for the data from Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) marks a significant improvement in metrewave solar radio imaging. Our work suggests that we should now be able to routinely detect GS emission from CME plasma. We present an example where we have successfully detected radio emission from CME plasma and modelled it as GS emission, leading to reliable estimates of CME magnetic field as well as the distribution of energetic electrons (Mondal et al. 2020). In a different example we are able to detect the radio emission from the CME plasma out to as far as 8.3 solar radii. We find that the observed spectra are not always consistent with simple GS models. This highlights that more complicated physics might be at play and points to the need for building more detailed models for interpreting these emissions. We hope that with the availability of polarimetric imaging capability, which we are in the process of developing, this technique will provide a robust way to routinely measure CME magnetic fields along with its other physical parameters. We note that these are the weakest detections of GS emissions from CME plasma reported yet.

The presence of Quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) is found to be a common feature of flaring energy release processes on the Sun. They are observed all across the EM range from hard X-rays to radio and provide insights into the physical conditions in the coronal plasma and the processes involved in the generation of these waves and oscillations. There have been numerous observations of spatially resolved QPPs at higher energies, though there are fewer examples at radio frequencies. Spatially resolved observations of these phenomena are particularly rare at low radio frequencies and there are none which are associated with the weaker episodes of active emissions which are much more numerous and frequent. The key reason limiting such studies has been the lack of availability of spectroscopic snapshot images of sufficient quality to detect and characterise the low level changes in the morphology of the sources of active emissions. Together, the data from the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), a SKA precursor, and an imaging pipeline developed to meet the specific needs of solar imaging, now meet this challenge and enable us to explore this rich and interesting science area. Our work has led to the discovery of several previously unknown phenomena - second-scale QPPs in the size and orientation of a type III source, with simultaneous QPPs in intensity; 30 s QPPs in the radio light curve of a type I emission source associated with active region loop hosting a transient brightening; and intermittent presence of an anti-correlation in the size and intensity of a type I noise storm source along with QPPs. In this presentation we will briefly summarise these recent results and discuss their implications.

It has been a long standing problem as to how the solar corona can maintain its million K temperature, while the photosphere, which is the lowest layer of the solar atmosphere, is only at a temperature of 5800 K. A very promising theory to explain this is the “nanoflare” hypothesis, which suggests that numerous flares of energies ~1024 ergs are always happening in the solar corona, and maintain its million K temperature. However, detecting these nanoflares directly is challenging with the current instrumentation as they are hypothesised to occur at very small spatial, temporal and energy scales. These nanoflares are expected to produce nonthermal electrons, which are expected to emit in the radio band. These nonthermal emissions are often brighter than their thermal counterparts and might be detectable with current radio instruments. Due to their importance multiple searches for these nonthermal emissions have been done, but thus far they have been limited to active regions. The quiet corona is also hot, and often comprises the bulk of the coronal region, so it is equally important to understand the physical processes which maintain this medium at MK temperatures. We describe the results from our effort to use the data from the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) to search for impulsive radio emissions in the quiet solar corona. By pushing the detection threshold of nonthermal emission by about two orders of magnitude lower than previous studies, we have uncovered ubiquitous very impulsive nonthermal emissions from the quiet sun. We refer to these emissions as Weak Impulsive Narrowband Quiet Sun Emissions (WINQSEs). Using independent observations spanning very different solar conditions we show that WINQSEs are present throughout the quiet corona at all times. Their occurrence rate lies in the range of many hundreds to about a thousand per minute, implying that on average order 10 or so WINQSEs are present in every 0.5 s MWA image. Preliminary estimates suggest that WINQSEs have a bandwidth of ~2 MHz. Buoyed by their possible connection to the hypothesised “nanoflares”, we are pursuing several projects to characterise and understand them. These include developing machine learning algorithms to identify WINQSEs in radio images and characterise their morphologies; exploring the ability of the present generation EUV and X-ray instruments to estimate the energy corresponding to the brightest of WINQSEs; and attempting very high time resolution imaging to explore their temporal structure. In this talk, I will present the results from the past and ongoing projects about WINQSEs and argue that these might be a key step towards detecting “nanoflares” and the resolution of the coronal heating problem.

We present a high fidelity snapshot spectroscopic radio imaging study of a weak type I solar noise storm which took place during an otherwise exceptionally quiet time. Using high fidelity images from the Murchison Widefield Array, we track the observed morphology of the burst source for 70 minutes and identify multiple instances where its integrated flux density and area are strongly anti-correlated with each other. The type I radio emission is believed to arise due to electron beams energized during magnetic reconnection activity. The observed anti-correlation is interpreted as evidence for presence of MHD sausage wave modes in the magnetic loops and strands along which these electron beams are propagating. Our observations suggest that the sites of these small scale reconnections are distributed along the magnetic flux tube. We hypothesise that small scale reconnections produces electron beams which quickly get collisionally damped. Hence, the plasma emission produced by them span only a narrow bandwidth and the features seen even a few MHz apart must arise from independent electron beams., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ

Quiet sun meterwave emission arises from thermal bremsstrahlung in the MK corona, and can potentially be a rich source of coronal diagnostics. On its way to the observer, it gets modified substantially due to the propagation effects - primarily refraction and scattering - through the magnetized and turbulent coronal medium, leading to the redistribution of the intensity in the image plane. By comparing the full-disk meterwave solar maps during a quiet solar period and the modelled thermal bremsstrahlung emission, we characterise these propagation effects. The solar radio maps between 100 and 240 MHz come from the Murchison Widefield Array. FORWARD package is used to simulate thermal bremsstrahlung images using the self-consistent Magnetohydrodynamic Algorithm outside a Sphere coronal model. The FORWARD model does not include propagation effects. The differences between the observed and modelled maps are interpreted to arise due to scattering and refraction. There is a good general correspondence between the predicted and observed brightness distributions, though significant differences are also observed. We find clear evidence for the presence of significant propagation effects, including anisotropic scattering. The observed radio size of the Sun is 25--30\% larger in area. The emission peak corresponding to the only visible active region shifts by 8'--11' and its size increases by 35--40\%. Our simple models suggest that the fraction of scattered flux density is always larger than a few tens of percent, and varies significantly between different regions. We estimate density inhomogeneities to be in the range 1--10\%.

This paper presents a detailed description of various subsystems of CALLISTO solar radio spectrograph installed at the USO/PRL. In the front-end system, a log periodic dipole antenna (LPDA) is designed for the frequency range of 40-900 MHz. In this paper LPDA design, its modifications, and simulation results are presented. We also present some initial observations taken by CALLISTO at Udaipur., Published in IEEE. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9118669

This letter explores the relevance of nanoflare based models for heating the quiet sun corona. Using metrewave data from the Murchison Widefield Array, we present the first successful detection of impulsive emissions down to flux densities of $\sim$mSFU, about two orders of magnitude weaker than earlier attempts. These impulsive emissions have durations $\lesssim 1$s and are present throughout the quiet solar corona. The fractional time occupancy of these impulsive emissions at a given region is $\lesssim 10\%$. The histograms of these impulsive emissions follow a powerlaw distribution and show signs of clustering at small timescales. Our estimate of the energy which must be dumped in the corona to generate these impulsive emissions is consistent with the coronal heating requirements. Additionally, the statistical properties of these impulsive emissions are very similar to those recently determined for magnetic switchbacks by the Parker Solar Probe (PSP). We hope that this work will lead to a renewed interest in relating these weak impulsive emissions to the energy deposited in the corona, the quantity of physical interesting from a coronal heating perspective, and explore their relationship with the magnetic switchbacks observed by the PSP., Comment: Published in ApJ Letters

The Venusian surface has been studied by measuring radar reflections and thermal radio emission over a wide spectral region of several centimeters to meter wavelengths from the Earth-based as well as orbiter platforms. The radiometric observations, in the decimeter (dcm) wavelength regime showed a decreasing trend in the observed brightness temperature (Tb) with increasing wavelength. The thermal emission models available at present have not been able to explain the radiometric observations at longer wavelength (dcm) to a satisfactory level. This paper reports the first interferometric imaging observations of Venus below 620 MHz. They were carried out at 606, 332.9 and 239.9 MHz using the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT). The Tb values derived at the respective frequencies are 526 K, 409 K and < 426 K, with errors of ~7% which are generally consistent with the reported Tb values at 608 MHz and 430 MHz by previous investigators, but are much lower than those derived from high-frequency observations at 1.38-22.46 GHz using the VLA., 8 pages, 3 figures

We present spectropolarimetric imaging observations of the solar corona at low frequencies (80 - 240 MHz) using the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). These images are the first of their kind, and we introduce an algorithm to mitigate an instrumental artefact by which the total intensity signal contaminates the polarimetric images due to calibration errors. We then survey the range of circular polarization (Stokes V) features detected in over 100 observing runs near solar maximum during quiescent periods. First, we detect around 700 compact polarized sources across our dataset with polarization fractions ranging from less than 0.5% to nearly 100%. These sources exhibit a positive correlation between polarization fraction and total intensity, and we interpret them as a continuum of plasma emission noise storm (Type I burst) continua sources associated with active regions. Second, we report a characteristic "bullseye" structure observed for many low-latitude coronal holes in which a central polarized component is surrounded by a ring of the opposite sense. The central component does not match the sign expected from thermal bremsstrahlung emission, and we speculate that propagation effects or an alternative emission mechanism may be responsible. Third, we show that the large-scale polarimetric structure at our lowest frequencies is reasonably well-correlated with the line-of-sight (LOS) magnetic field component inferred from a global potential field source surface (PFSS) model. The boundaries between opposite circular polarization signs are generally aligned with polarity inversion lines in the model at a height roughly corresponding to that of the radio limb. This is not true at our highest frequencies, however, where the LOS magnetic field direction and polarization sign are often not straightforwardly correlated., Accepted by Solar Physics, 36 pages, 13 figures

Venus was observed at frequencies of 1297.67 MHz (23 cm), 607.67 MHz (49 cm) and 233.67 MHz (1.28 m) with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) during the period of 25th July and 6th September 2015 when it was close to its inferior conjunction. Values of the brightness temperature (Tb) of Venus from these observations were derived as 622{\pm}43 K, 554{\pm}38 K for 1297.67 and 607.67 MHz frequencies, respectively, are in agreement with the previous observations. The attempt to derive the Tb at 233.67 MHz affirms an upper limit of 321 K which is significantly lower than the previously reported upper limit of 426 K at the same frequency. We also present the dielectric constant ({\epsilon}) values of the Venus surface estimated using the degree of polarisation maps of Venus, derived from the GMRT polarisation observations and theoretical calculations. The {\epsilon} of the Venus surface was estimated to be ~4.5 at both the 607.67 MHz and 1297.67 MHz, close to the reported values of {\epsilon} of 4 to 4.5 from the radar-based observations including the Magellan observations at 2.38 GHz (12.6 cm)., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures

The GMRT Online Archive houses over 80 terabytes of interferometric observations obtained with the GMRT, since the first public observing cycle in 2002. The utility of this vast archive of raw UV visibilities, likely the largest of any Indian telescope, can be significantly enhanced if first look (and where possible, science ready) processed images can be made available to the user community. We have initiated a project to pipeline process GMRT images in the 150, 240, 325 and 610 MHz bands. The SPAM pipeline developed by Huib Intema is being used for this purpose.

Low frequency radio astronomy (< 1 GHz) are impacted by radio frequency interference (RFI) and direction dependent calibration errors (DDEs) which limit the sensitivity and reliability of an observation.

The two key phenomenon involved in Space Weather - magnetic reconnection and particle acceleration at shocks and magnetic reconnection sites - are both yet to be understood in sufficient detail. Due to the nature of the emission mechanisms involved, radio observations, especially at metric wavelengths, are sensitive to the local magnetic fields, carry information about particle acceleration sites and shocks where they are produced, and originate at coronal heights which are hard to probe by most other means. Radio observations are unique in that they have they can be used to study the precursors, the drivers as well as the consequences of Space Weather events. The pre-eruption phase of a coronal mass ejection (CME) is often associated with the type III solar bursts. The CME shock location, motion and morphology can be studied using the type II emission. The gyrosynchrotron emission from the accelerated electrons trapped in the CME plasma allow us to estimate the CME magnetic field, among other parameters. Due to Faraday rotation, the CME plasma leaves an imprint of its magnetic topology on the linearly polarised light from background radio sources. A large number of such observations sampling many lines of sight through the CME as it traverses the vast interplanetary space can, in principle, allow to us estimate the 3D magnetic field configuration of the CME, eventually leading to robust Space Weather prediction. Upon arrival on Earth, the terrestrial impact of the CMEs can also be measured using ionospheric observations.

Type III solar radio bursts are coherent EM waves generated at the local plasma frequency and its harmonic, via wave-particle interactions triggered by the passage of energetic electron beams originating from particle acceleration sites. These electron beams are constrained to travel along $\sim B$ and, in principle, can be used to study the detailed dynamics of the magnetic field bundles along which they travel. However, it had remained a challenge to extract this dynamical information from observations as it gets modified by radio wave propagation effects in the Corona. Making progress here requires spectroscopic snapshot (SS) imaging with good imaging fidelity at sub-second and sub-MHz resolutions, which is only becoming possible now with the availability of new generation of instruments like the Murchison Widefield Array.

Weak heating events are frequent and ubiquitous in solar corona. They derive their energy from the local magnetic field and form a major source of local heating, signatures of which are seen in EUV and X-ray bands. Their radio emission arise from various plasma instabilities that lead to coherent radiation, making even a weak flare appear very bright. The radio observations hence probe non-equilibrium dynamics providing complementary information on plasma evolution. However, a robust study of radio emission from a weak event among many simultaneous events, requires high dynamic range imaging at sub-second andsub-MHz resolutions owing to their high spectro-temporal variability. Such observations were not possible until recently.This is among the first spatially resolved studies of an active region loop hosting a transient brightening (ARTB) and dynamically linked to a metrewave type-I noise storm. It uses imaging observations at metrewave, EUV and X-ray bands, along with magnetogram data. We believe this is the first spectroscopic radio imaging study of a type-I source, the data for which was obtained using the Murchison Widefield Array. We report the discovery of 30 s quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in the radio light curve, riding on a coherent baseline flux. The strength of the QPOs and the baseline flux enhanced during a mircoflare associated with the ARTB. Our observations suggest a scenario where magnetic stress builds up over an Alfv\'{e}n timescale (30s) across the typical magnetic field braiding scale and then dissipates via a cascade of weak reconnection events., Comment: 21 Pages and 13 figures

Solar radio emission, especially at metre-wavelengths, is well known to vary over small spectral ($\lesssim$100\,kHz) and temporal ($, Accepted for publication in the ApJ

The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is an open access telescope dedicated to studying the low frequency (80$-$300 MHz) southern sky. Since beginning operations in mid 2013, the MWA has opened a new observational window in the southern hemisphere enabling many science areas. The driving science objectives of the original design were to observe 21\,cm radiation from the Epoch of Reionisation (EoR), explore the radio time domain, perform Galactic and extragalactic surveys, and monitor solar, heliospheric, and ionospheric phenomena. All together 60$+$ programs recorded 20,000 hours producing 146 papers to date. In 2016 the telescope underwent a major upgrade resulting in alternating compact and extended configurations. Other upgrades, including digital back-ends and a rapid-response triggering system, have been developed since the original array was commissioned. In this paper we review the major results from the prior operation of the MWA, and then discuss the new science paths enabled by the improved capabilities. We group these science opportunities by the four original science themes, but also include ideas for directions outside these categories., Comment: 38 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in PASA

Measuring the physical parameters of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), particularly their entrained magnetic field, is crucial for understanding their physics and for assessing their geo-effectiveness. At the moment, only remote sensing techniques can probe these quantities in the corona, the region where CMEs form and acquire their defining characteristics. Radio observations offer the most direct means for estimating the magnetic field when gyrosynchontron emission is detected. In this work we measure various CME plasma parameters, including its magnetic field, by modelling the gyrosynchrotron emission from a CME. The dense spectral coverage over a wide frequency range provided by the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) affords a much better spectral sampling than possible before. The MWA images also provide much higher imaging dynamic range, enabling us to image these weak emissions. Hence we are able to detect radio emission from a CME at larger distances ($4.73 R_\odot$) than have been reported before. The flux densities reported here are amongst the lowest measured in similar works. Our ability to make extensive measurements on a slow and otherwise unremarkable CME suggest that with the availability of data from the new generation instruments like the MWA, it should now be possible to make routine direct detections of radio counterparts of CMEs.

We present a survey for transient and variable sources, on timescales from 28 seconds to $\sim$1 year, using the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) at 182 MHz. Down to a detection threshold of 0.285 Jy, no transient candidates were identified, making this the most constraining low-frequency survey to date and placing a limit on the surface density of transients of $, Comment: MNRAS Accepted, 17 pages, 10 figures

We analyse a 154 MHz image made from a 12 h observation with the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) to determine the noise contribution and behaviour of the source counts down to 30 mJy. The MWA image has a bandwidth of 30.72 MHz, a field-of-view within the half-power contour of the primary beam of 570 deg^2, a resolution of 2.3 arcmin and contains 13,458 sources above 5 sigma. The rms noise in the centre of the image is 4-5 mJy/beam. The MWA counts are in excellent agreement with counts from other instruments and are the most precise ever derived in the flux density range 30-200 mJy due to the sky area covered. Using the deepest available source count data, we find that the MWA image is affected by sidelobe confusion noise at the ~3.5 mJy/beam level, due to incompletely-peeled and out-of-image sources, and classical confusion becomes apparent at ~1.7 mJy/beam. This work highlights that (i) further improvements in ionospheric calibration and deconvolution imaging techniques would be required to probe to the classical confusion limit and (ii) the shape of low-frequency source counts, including any flattening towards lower flux densities, must be determined from deeper ~150 MHz surveys as it cannot be directly inferred from higher frequency data., 13 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Aims. We aim to investigate the spatial location of the source of an active region (AR) jet and its relation with associated nonthermal type III radio emission. Methods. An emission measure (EM) method was used to study the thermodynamic nature of the AR jet. The nonthermal type III radio burst observed at meterwavelength was studied using the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) radio imaging and spectroscopic data. The local configuration of the magnetic field and the connectivity of the source region of the jet with open magnetic field structures was studied using a nonlinear force-free field (NLFFF) extrapolation and potential field source surface (PFSS) extrapolation respectively. Results. The plane-of-sky velocity of the AR jet was found to be ∼136 km s−1. The EM analysis confirmed the presence of low temperature 2 MK plasma for the spire, whereas hot plasma, between 5 and 8 MK, was present at the footpoint region which also showed the presence of Fe XVIII emission. A lower limit on the electron number density was found to be 1.4 × 108 cm−3 for the spire and 2.2 × 108 cm−3 for the footpoint. A temporal and spatial correlation between the AR jet and nonthermal type III burst confirmed the presence of open magnetic fields. An NLFFF extrapolation showed that the photospheric footpoints of the null point were anchored at the location of the source brightening of the jet. The spatial location of the radio sources suggests an association with the extrapolated closed and open magnetic fields although strong propagation effects are also present. Conclusions. The multi-scale analysis of the field at local, AR, and solar scales confirms the interlink between different flux bundles involved in the generation of the type III radio signal with flux transferred from a small coronal hole to the periphery of the sunspot via null point reconnection with an emerging structure.

Low frequency imaging radio arrays such as MWA, LWA and LOFAR have been recently commissioned, and significantly more advanced and flexible arrays are planned for the near term. These powerful instruments offer new opportunities for direct solar imaging at high time and frequency resolution. They can also probe large volumes of the heliosphere simultaneously, by virtue of very large fields of view. They allow highly detailed, spatially resolved study of solar and heliospheric radio bursts, which are complemented by heliospheric propagation studies using both background astronomical radio emissions as well as the bursts themselves. In this paper, the state of the art in such wide field solar and heliospheric radio studies is summarized, including recent results from the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). The prospects for major advances in observational capabilities in the near future are reviewed, with particular emphasis on the RAPID system developed at Haystack Observatory, Comment: Accepted for publication in Proceedings of "8th International Workshop on Planetary, Solar and Heliospheric Radio Emissions (PRE VIII)". 10 pages, 4 figures

We present the first low-frequency Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) radio continuum maps of the Magellanic Clouds (MCs), using mosaics from the GaLactic Extragalactic All-Sky MWA (GLEAM) survey. In this paper, we discuss the overall radio continuum morphology between 76 and 227 MHz and compare them with neutral hydrogen maps, 1.4 GHz continuum maps and optical images. Variation of diffuse emission is noticeable across the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) but absent across the bar of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). We also measure the integrated flux densities and derive the spectral indices for the MCs. A double power-law model with fixed α1 = -0.1 fit between 19.7 MHz and 8.55 GHz yields α0 = -0.66 ± 0.08 for the LMC. A power-law model yields α _{8.55 GHz}^{85.5 MHz} = -0.82± 0.03 for the SMC. The radio spectral index maps reveal distinctive flat and steep spectral indices for the H II regions and supernova remnants, respectively. We find strong correlation between H II regions and Hα emission. Using a new 150 MHz-Hα relation as a star formation rate indicator, we estimate global star formation rates of 0.068-0.161 M☉ yr-1 and 0.021-0.050 M☉ yr-1 for the LMC and SMC, respectively. Images in 20 frequency bands, and wideband averages are made available via the GLEAM virtual observatory server.

Low-frequency, wide field-of-view (FoV) radio telescopes such as the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) enable the ionosphere to be sampled at high spatial completeness. We present the results of the first power spectrum analysis of ionospheric fluctuations in MWA data, where we examined the position offsets of radio sources appearing in two datasets. The refractive shifts in the positions of celestial sources are proportional to spatial gradients in the electron column density transverse to the line of sight. These can be used to probe plasma structures and waves in the ionosphere. The regional (10-100 km) scales probed by the MWA, determined by the size of its FoV and the spatial density of radio sources (typically thousands in a single FoV), complement the global (100-1000 km) scales of GPS studies and local (0.01-1 km) scales of radar scattering measurements. Our data exhibit a range of complex structures and waves. Some fluctuations have the characteristics of travelling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs), while others take the form of narrow, slowly-drifting bands aligned along the Earth's magnetic field.

Detection of the fluctuations in 21 cm line emission from neutral hydrogen during the Epoch of Reionization in thousand hour integrations poses stringent requirements on calibration and image quality, both of which necessitate accurate primary beam models. The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) uses phased array antenna elements which maximize collecting area at the cost of complexity. To quantify their performance, we have developed a novel beam measurement system using the 137 MHz ORBCOMM satellite constellation and a reference dipole antenna. Using power ratio measurements, we measure the {\it in situ} beampattern of the MWA antenna tile relative to that of the reference antenna, canceling the variation of satellite flux or polarization with time. We employ angular averaging to mitigate multipath effects (ground scattering), and assess environmental systematics with a null experiment in which the MWA tile is replaced with a second reference dipole. We achieve beam measurements over 30 dB dynamic range in beam sensitivity over a large field of view (65\% of the visible sky), far wider and deeper than drift scans through astronomical sources allow. We verify an analytic model of the MWA tile at this frequency within a few percent statistical scatter within the full width at half maximum. Towards the edges of the main lobe and in the sidelobes, we measure tens of percent systematic deviations. We compare these errors with those expected from known beamforming errors.

Ionization of the Earth's atmosphere by sunlight forms a complex, multi-layered plasma environment within the Earth's magnetosphere, the innermost layers being the ionosphere and plasmasphere. The plasmasphere is believed to be embedded with cylindrical density structures (ducts) aligned along the Earth's magnetic field, but direct evidence for these remains scarce. Here we report the first direct wide-angle observation of an extensive array of field-aligned ducts bridging the upper ionosphere and inner plasmasphere, using a novel ground-based imaging technique. We establish their heights and motions by feature-tracking and parallax analysis. The structures are strikingly organized, appearing as regularly-spaced, alternating tubes of overdensities and underdensities strongly aligned with the Earth's magnetic field. These findings represent the first direct visual evidence for the existence of such structures., Accepted for publication in Geophysical Research Letters

An FPGA-based digital-receiver has been developed for a low-frequency imaging radio interferometer, the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). The MWA, located at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) in Western Australia, consists of 128 dual-polarized aperture-array elements (tiles) operating between 80 and 300\,MHz, with a total processed bandwidth of 30.72 MHz for each polarization. Radio-frequency signals from the tiles are amplified and band limited using analog signal conditioning units; sampled and channelized by digital-receivers. The signals from eight tiles are processed by a single digital-receiver, thus requiring 16 digital-receivers for the MWA. The main function of the digital-receivers is to digitize the broad-band signals from each tile, channelize them to form the sky-band, and transport it through optical fibers to a centrally located correlator for further processing. The digital-receiver firmware also implements functions to measure the signal power, perform power equalization across the band, detect interference-like events, and invoke diagnostic modes. The digital-receiver is controlled by high-level programs running on a single-board-computer. This paper presents the digital-receiver design, implementation, current status, and plans for future enhancements., Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures

Recent observations with the Murchison Widefield Array at 185~MHz have serendipitously unveiled a heretofore unknown giant and relatively nearby ($z = 0.0178$) radio galaxy associated with NGC\,1534. The diffuse emission presented here is the first indication that NGC\,1534 is one of a rare class of objects (along with NGC\,5128 and NGC\,612) in which a galaxy with a prominent dust lane hosts radio emission on scales of $\sim$700\,kpc. We present details of the radio emission along with a detailed comparison with other radio galaxies with disks. NGC1534 is the lowest surface brightness radio galaxy known with an estimated scaled 1.4-GHz surface brightness of just 0.2\,mJy\,arcmin$^{-2}$. The radio lobes have one of the steepest spectral indices yet observed: $\alpha=-2.1\pm0.1$, and the core to lobe luminosity ratio is $, Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted MNRAS