Comment on “Locating the source field lines of Jovian decametric radio emissions” by YuMing Wang et al.

In this comment on the article“Locating the source field lines of Jovian decametric radio emissions”by Wang YM et al.,2020,we discuss the assumptions used by the authors to compute the beaming angle of Jupiter’s decametric emissions induced by the moon Io.Their method,relying on multi-point radio observations,was applied to a single event observed on 14th March 2014 by Wind and both STEREO A/B spacecraft from~5 to~16 MHz.They have erroneously identified the emission as a northern(Io-B type)instead of a southern one(Io-D type).We encourage the authors to update their results with the correct hemisphere of origin and to test their method on a larger sample of Jupiter-Io emissions.

Some Characteristic Parameters of the Basic Components of the Solar Radio Emission

Four basic components of the solar radio emission: the quiet sun, the slowly varying component (SVC), the radio burst and the ultra-fast varying component (UFVC) are studied. As their six characteristic parameters: radiation source, brightness temperature, radiation lifetime, polarized radiation, radiation mechanism, and character of superposition are affirmed.

Locating the source field lines of Jovian decametric radio emissions

Decametric(DAM) radio emissions are one of the main windows through which one can reveal and understand the Jovian magnetospheric dynamics and its interaction with the moons. DAMs are generated by energetic electrons through cyclotron-maser instability. For Io(the most active moon) related DAMs, the energetic electrons are sourced from Io volcanic activities, and quickly trapped by neighboring Jovian magnetic field. To properly interpret the physical processes behind DAMs, it is important to precisely locate the source field lines from which DAMs are emitted. Following the work by Hess et al.(2008, 2010), we develop a method to locate the source region as well as the associated field lines for any given DAM emission recorded in a radio dynamic spectrum by, e.g.,Wind/WAVES or STEREO/WAVES. The field lines are calculated by the state-of-art analytical model, called JRM09(Connerney et al., 2018).By using this method, we may also derive the emission cone angle and the energy of associated electrons. If multiple radio instruments at different perspectives observe the same DAM event, the evolution of its source region and associated field lines is able to be revealed. We apply the method to an Io-DAM event, and find that the method is valid and reliable. Some physical processes behind the DAM event are also discussed.

Reply to Comment by Lamy et al. on “Locating the source field lines of Jovian decametric radio emissions”

Locating the source of decametric(DAM)radio emissions is a key step in the use of remote radio observations to understand the Jovian magnetospheric dynamics and their interaction with the planet’s moons.Wang YM et al.(2020)presented a method by which recorded arc-shaped DAM emissions in the radio dynamic spectra can be used to locate the source of a DAM.An Io-related DAM event on March 14,2014 was used to demonstrate the method.A key parameter in the method is whether the DAM is emitted in the northern or the southern hemisphere;the hemisphere of origin can be determined definitively from the polarization of the emission.Unfortunately,polarization information for the emission on March 14,2014 event was not recorded.Our analysis assumed the source to be in the northern hemisphere.Lamy et al.(2022)argue convincingly that the source was probably in the southern hemisphere.We appreciate the helpful contribution of Lamy et al.(2022)to this discussion and have updated our analysis,this time assuming that the DAM source was in the southern hemisphere.We also explore the sensitivity of our method to another parameter-the height at which the value of fce,max,which is the maximal electron cyclotron frequency reached along the active magnetic flux tube,is adopted.Finally,we introduce our recent statistical study of 68 DAM events,which lays a more solid basis for testing the reliability of our method,which we continue to suggest is a promising tool by which remote radio observations can be used to locate the emission source of Jovian DAMs.

Concerning spikes in emission and absorption in the microwave range

In some events, weak fast solar bursts （near the level of the quiet Sun） were observed in the background of numerous spikes in emission and absorption. In such a case, the background contains the noise signals of the receiver. In events on 2005 September 16 and 2002 April 14, the solar origin of fast bursts was confirmed by simultaneous recording of the bursts at several remote observatories. The noisy background pixels in emission and absorption can be excluded by subtracting a higher level of continuum when constructing the spectra. The wavelet spectrum, noisy pro- files in different polarization channels and a spectrum with continuum level greater than zero demonstrates the noisy character of pixels with the lowest levels of emission and absorption. Thus, in each case, in order to judge the solar origin of all spikes, it is necessary to determine the level of continuum against the background of which the solar bursts are observed. Several models of microwave spikes are discussed. The electron cyclotron maser emission mechanism runs into serious problems with the in- terpretation of microwave millisecond spikes： the main obstacles are too high values of the magnetic field strength in the source （Pe 〈 uB）. The probable mechanism is the interaction of plasma Langmuir waves with ion-sound waves （l ＋ s → t） in a source related to shock fronts in the reconnection region.

The importance of source positions during radio fine structure observations

The measurement of positions and sizes of radio sources in the observations of the fine structure of solar radio bursts is a determining factor for the selection of the radio emission mechanism. The identical parameters describing the radio sources for zebra structures（ZSs） and fiber bursts confirm there is a common mechanism for both structures. It is very important to measure the size of the source in the corona to determine if it is distributed along the height or if it is point-like. In both models of ZSs（the double plasma resonance（DPR） and the whistler model） the source must be distributed along the height, but by contrast to the stationary source in the DPR model, in the whistler model the source should be moving. Moreover, the direction of the space drift of the radio source must correlate with the frequency drift of stripes in the dynamic spectrum. Some models of ZSs require a local source, for example,the models based on the Bernstein modes, or on explosive instability. The selection of the radio emission mechanism for fast broadband pulsations with millisecond duration also depends on the parameters of their radio sources.

Linear Correlations between Peak Frequency of Gyrosynchrotron Spectrum and Photosphere Magnetic Fields

The gyrosynchrotron spectra are computed in a nonuniform magnetic field case, taking into account the self- and gyroresonance absorption. It is found that the peak frequency νp of the gyrosynchrotron spectrum systematically increases with the increasing photosphere magnetic field strength B0 and increasing viewing angle θ. It is also found for the first time that there are good positive linear correlations between νp and B0, and between log νp and log θ, with linear correlation coefficient 0.99 between νp and B0 and 0.95 between log νp and log θ. We apply the correlations to analyze two burst events observed with OVSA and find that the evolution tendencies of the photosphere magnetic field strength B0 estimated from the above expression are comparable with the observational results of SOHO/MDI. We also give a comparison of the diagnostic results of coronal magnetic field strength in both uniform and nonuniform source models.

Recent observations and research progresses of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes during thunderstorms

Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes(TGFs)are high-energy emissions in thunderstorms that were discovered first by satellite-based and then by ground-based gamma-ray detectors with photon energy up to tens of Me V.TGFs are a natural highenergy phenomenon associated with lightning discharges that frequently occur during thunderstorms.However,their production mechanisms and associated processes are still unclear.TGF studies have already been a research spotlight in the atmospheric electricity and high-energy atmosphere research areas.In this paper,we review recent research progresses on TGF studies in the past decade,including TGF detection,the relationship between TGFs and lightning processes,and thunderstorm activities.Several unsolved important scientific questions are discussed.Results suggest that upward TGFs observed by satellite-based detectors are closely connected with the development of in-cloud upward negative leaders.They are usually generated in milliseconds of the initiation of upward negative leaders and may produce a kind of distinct radio emissions because of the generation and propagation of huge amounts of high-energy electrons.By contrast,its counterpart,i.e.,downward TGFs observed by ground-based gamma-ray detectors,is associated with different types of lightning processes,such as downward negative or upward positive leaders,the initial continuing current stage of rocket-triggered lightning flashes return stroke processes.Because of limited observations,how these downward TGFs are generated is still unclear.Benefiting from the development of state-of-the-art instruments with high temporal and spatial resolutions,new insights into the processes and mechanisms of TGFs will be achieved with coordinated observations from satellite-based and ground-based measurements.