On the Polarization and Rapid Fade-out of Moving Type IV Solar Bursts

Abstract

Since the advent of the 80 MHz radioheliograph, precise position and polarization measurements have become available on several moving type IV bursts. Two of the more puzzling characteristics of these bursts are : (1) they exhibit strong circular polarization in parts or all of the source region ; (2) after moving outward to as much as 3 R_⊙ with relatively constant intensity, they rapidly fade away. In this paper we discuss the polarization and intensity of synchrotron radiation from mildly relativistic electrons and suggest betatron deceleration as a mechanism to explain the rapid fade-out of the moving type IV sources. The results are applied to two examples of moving type IV bursts.