Radioastronomical Studies of Plasma Waves in the Solar Corona and Solar Winds

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The Principal Investigator (PI) proposes to address an important, yet unsolved problem in solar physics: the heating of the solar carona. He starts from the assumption that this heating is caused by the damping in the carona of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves, which start from turbulence and the associated fluctuations of magnetic fields in the photosphere. Two experiments are planned, both of which make use of effects that the MHD waves have on extragalactic radio waves as they pass through the solar corona and the solar wind very close to the sun. In the first experiment, the PI will measure angular broadening of radio sources viewed through the solar corona's turbulent plasma and attempt to obtain information on the spatial power spectrum of the turbulence. In the second experiment, the PI will observe extragalactic radio sources to measure Faraday rotation that are due to the density and magnetic field irregularities in the solar corona. This experiment will be an extension of observations by Hollwer et al. of radio signals emitted by the Helios spacecraft transmitter.