Speaker
Description
Known that spectral observations of microwave (1-10 cm) polarized emission of the Sun offer the possibility for direct measurements of plasma parameters and magnetic field inductions in the upper chromosphere and the lower corona at the range of heights above the photosphere. Thus current microwave observations of the Sun could be expected for studies of wide range of solar physics problems understanding solar activity features and origins of the space weather creation.
For last years Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre (VIRAC) of Ventspils University of Applied Sciences, Latvia develops and provides spectral polarimetric microwave observations of the whole disk of the Sun and its separate active regions. Observations are performed with the RT-32 radio telescope in a “single dish” mode. The radio telescope is equipped by the multichannel (12 frequency channels) spectral polarimeter and is able to observe the solar emission at 2.1-7.4 cm (4.1-14.3 GHz) wavelength range and both circular polarizations simultaneously.
The presentation concerns to a current state solar microwave observations in VIRAC, its technical and methodical issues and some projects VIRAC participated in. Also the presentation discusses feasible problems of solar physics which could be studied on the base of these microwave spectral polarimetric observations. The possibility of studies of coronal holes and coronal hole-like areas (“dark coronal corridors”, “coronal partings”, “s-web”) associated with local open magnetic fields which could be expected as sources of the slow solar wind and the analysis of microwave flux fluctuations of active regions preceding solar flares are discussed as well.