Solar Type IIIb Radio Bursts as Tracers for Electron Density Fluctuations in the Corona

Abstract

We present an estimation of the electron density modulation index ( δN Nee ) for the first time using solar type IIIb radio burst observations. The mean value of δN Nee is calculated to be ≈ 0.006 ± 0.002 over the heliocentric distance range r ≈ 1.6 – 2.2 RThe estimated δNe Ne shows a power law dependence on r with a power law index ≈ 0.31 ± 0.10. The wavenumber (k) spectrum for the electron density fluctuation ( δN Nee )2 values shows a Kolmogorov-like behavior. Using δN Nee and the Kolmogorov turbulence index, we estimated the amplitude of density turbulence [Cn 2(r)] in the aforementioned range of r.