arXiv subjects

Puja Majee

Publications and source records attributed to Puja Majee.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Coronal Magnetography using Spectropolarimetry with SKA Telescopes

The solar coronal magnetic field drives nearly every aspect of solar phenomena and activity -- from flares, coronal mass ejections, and solar wind that governs space weather to the much weaker nanoflares. These magnetic fields are routinely measured at the visible surface of the Sun, the photosphere. However, detailed and direct measurements of the magnetic fields in the solar atmosphere, particularly in the coronal layer, have remained rather limited. Mostly, these are estimated from vector magnetic field measurements at photospheric heights through different extrapolation models. In the case of the corona, these extrapolations lack observational constraints from the corona, especially during periods of intense activity when magnetic structures evolve rapidly. Measurements of coronal magnetic fields from observations, therefore, remain one of the most crucial and unresolved challenges in solar and space-weather research. Radio observations of the Sun hold considerable potential in this regard. Observations of diverse emission mechanisms, ranging from plasma emissions at lower frequencies to thermal Bremsstrahlung and gyro-resonance at higher frequencies, provide multiple avenues to probe the coronal magnetic fields, unique at radio wavelengths. SKAO, with its broad frequency coverage (0.05 to 15 GHz), will allow us to probe wide range of coronal layers through unprecedented high-fidelity polarimetric imaging at high temporal, spectral, and spatial resolutions. This chapter details how the coronal magnetic field measurements can be achieved through spectro-polarimetric imaging of the Sun with the SKAO.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2026

Role of SKA in Advancing Remote Measurements of Magnetic Fields of Solar Coronal Mass Ejections

Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are large expulsions of magnetized plasma from the Sun into interplanetary space and are the primary drivers of extreme space weather variations. The strength and topology of CME magnetic fields largely determine their impact on Earth. Although visible-light coronagraphs routinely observe CMEs and provide their geometric and kinematic properties, they cannot directly measure CME vector magnetic fields. These fields evolve from initiation through the inner heliosphere due to interactions with other CMEs, coronal structures, and the ambient solar wind, leading to significant structural deformation. Such evolution complicates predictions of the CME magnetic field at Earth. Accurate measurements of CME magnetic fields in the corona and heliosphere are therefore essential for advancing space weather forecasting. Radio observations spanning MHz to GHz frequencies provide a powerful remote-sensing approach for measuring CME magnetic fields from the ground. Recent observations with Square Kilometre Array (SKA) precursors and pathfinder instruments, as well as other new-generation facilities, have demonstrated the potential of these radio techniques for CME magnetic-field diagnostics. At the same time, these studies have highlighted several limitations of current instruments. The higher sensitivity, wider instantaneous bandwidth, and broader frequency coverage of the SKA will open a new observational window, enabling these techniques to be fully exploited for constraining SpWx models and improving predictive accuracy. However, such observations are non-standard and require special consideration in scheduling, calibration, and imaging. Developments achieved with SKA precursors and pathfinders are paving the way for robust CME magnetic-field measurements with the SKA.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2026

State-of-the-art Observation, Calibration, and Imaging Framework for Solar and Heliospheric Sciences with SKA

The Sun is a surprisingly difficult radio source to observe and image, even with the SKA. It is multiple orders brighter than the typical radio sources, which sensitive radio telescopes like SKA are optimized for. So, configuring the signal chain to enable solar observations while maintaining linearity is the very first non-standard requirement to be met. Next, solar radio emission spans an impressive range along every single phase-space parameter that can be used to describe it -- time scales from solar cycles to millisecond; spectral scales from smooth thermal emission to $\sim$100 kHz coherent emission; brightness temperatures from $10^4$ K for gyrosynchrotron emissions to $10^{13}$ K for bright type-III bursts; fractional polarizations from less than 1\% to nearly 100\%; and angular scales extending beyond a degree. Capturing the dynamics in solar radio emission in their full glory requires, on the one hand, that all the data that goes into making an image be acquired over very short temporal and spectral spans and, on the other, also imposes requirements for very high imaging dynamic range with high polarization purity. Extracting the information at the requisite temporal and spectral scales from SKA data will require a spectropolarimetric snapshot capability with high dynamic range and fidelity. Additionally, some of the most interesting insights into solar physics and space weather come from studying solar activity, which remains inherently unpredictable. This chapter discusses the various considerations that need to be addressed to help realize the promise of solar and heliospheric science from SKA.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2026

Solar energetic particles and their association with radio emissions

Energetic particle populations are ubiquitous throughout the Universe. In our solar system, the most prominent sources of energetic particles are solar flares or collisionless shocks often driven by huge eruptions of magnetised plasma called coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Remotely, low energy electrons from the Sun can be observed as solar radio bursts that are produced by accelerated electron beams undergoing beam-plasma interactions. There are still many open questions on the generation of solar energetic particles (SEP): how and where are SEPs accelerated during solar flares and CMEs and how they escape the solar atmosphere? Another important question is: what is the link between the solar radio bursts and the observed SEPs at spacecraft? SKA can provide high-resolution radio images combined with spectroscopic observations to determine the acceleration time, trajectory and escape of low energy electrons from the solar corona. The synergy between SKA and current space missions will help investigate solar activity and energetic particles across a wide range of wavelengths and particle energies. Particle data from spacecraft can be used to make a connection between radio bursts and SEPs by comparing SEP inferred injection times and energies to those of electrons generating radio bursts at the Sun. Radio observations in turn can be used to distinguish between flare and shock acceleration since different radio bursts pinpoint towards different energetic processes. Since the acceleration region and origin of SEPs of various properties is still largely debated, radio observations have the potential to be an invaluable tool in unraveling these processes.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2026

Solar Radio Bursts in the metric to kilometric range

Solar radio bursts (SRBs) are intense emissions observed in radio wavelengths most frequently during solar transients, such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and flares. SRBs are direct signatures of accelerated electrons in the solar atmosphere. These solar transients have a direct impact on the near-Earth atmosphere. SRBs serve as key diagnostic tools for plasma processes, particle accelerations, magnetic field dynamics in the solar corona and the heliosphere, which are the root cause of these solar transients. There are several key science question which solar radio observations can answer, such as: When $\&$ where is the bulk of the energy released in flares?, what are the physical properties of the energy release site?, what are the properties of heated plasma $\&$ accelerated particles?, how does the transport of heated plasma $\&$ accelerated particles?, what bearing do flares have on the question of coronal heating? The Square Kilometre Array (SKA), with its unprecedented sensitivity, temporal, spectral, and spatial resolution, as well as dynamic range, is expected to provide an enhanced understanding of the physics behind solar transients with unprecedented detail.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2025

Long-term monitoring of repeating FRB 20220912A with the uGMRT at low radio frequencies

Some repeating FRBs exhibit occasional extreme repetition rates, but very few show a sustained high activity level. One such hyperactive repeater is FRB 20220912A, which was discovered by CHIME/FRB Collaboration on 2022 September 12. Here, we present results from a long-term monitoring campaign of FRB 20220912A using the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) in the frequency range from 300 to 750 MHz. Over the course of nearly two years, we detected a total of 643 bursts in this frequency range. The source exhibited extreme activity for a few months after its discovery and sustained its active phase for more than 1.5 years, with unsystematic modulations in the activity during this phase. The cumulative energy distributions in both bands show a break, consistent with other active repeaters like FRB 20121102A, FRB 202011124A, etc., suggesting common underlying emission mechanisms. Moreover, we show that the energy distribution shape for FRB 20220912A remains broadly same across a large range of frequencies and over time. Overall, the extended high activity, estimated total energy output, persistent power-law tails in the energy distributions, and the lack of detectable short timescale periodicity favor progenitor models invoking young dynamic magnetars, potentially emitting pulses across large rotation phase ranges.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

On Using Gradient Dynamic Spectra (GraDS) to Study Type-II Solar Radio Bursts

Solar type-II radio bursts are coherent plasma emissions arising from magnetohydrodynamic shocks produced by either coronal mass ejections (CMEs) or flares. Type-II bursts sometimes show split-band emissions in the dynamic spectrum. When these split-band emissions come from regions just upstream and downstream of the shock, type-II band-splitting can be used as an important tool for estimating magnetic fields at the shock front. Earlier studies have shown that only $\sim$20\% of the type-IIs show morphologically similar split-bands. Imaging studies can unambiguously identify such instances, though they remain very rare. Here we suggest a useful approach to augment dynamic spectra-based studies by also examining the Gradient Dynamic Spectra (GraDS) of type-II emission. We also verified the conclusions of this approach against those from an imaging study.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2023

Space Weather Research using Spectropolarimetric Radio Imaging Combined With Aditya-L1 and PUNCH Missions

Low-frequency radio observations have been expected to serve as a powerful tool for Space Weather (SW) observations for decades. Radio observations are sensitive to a wide range of SW-related observations ranging from emissions from coronal mass ejections (CMEs) to the solar wind. Ground-based radio observatories allow one gathering of high-sensitivity data at high time and spectral resolution for an extended period, which remains a challenge for most space-based observatories. While radio techniques like Interplanetary Scintillation (IPS) are well established, radio imaging studies have remained technically challenging. This is now changing with the confluence of data from instruments, like the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), and robust unsupervised analysis pipelines. This pipeline delivers full Stokes radio images with unprecedented fidelity and dynamic range. This will serve as a powerful tool for coronal and heliospheric studies. We present the recent developments and achievements to measure the magnetic fields of the CME plasma and shock front at coronal heights and also share the current status of the objective to measure the heliospheric Faraday rotation towards numerous background linearly polarised radio sources with the Sun in the field of view. We envision that in the coming years, the availability of new-generation radio instruments combined with the Aditya-L1 and PUNCH mission will mark the start of a new era in Space Weather modeling and prediction.

astro-ph.SR↗