Solar Radio-Frequency Reflectivity and Localization of FRB from Solar Reflection

Abstract

The radiation of a Fast Radio Burst (FRB) reflects from the Moon and Sun. If a reflection is detected, the time interval between the direct and reflected signals constrains the source to a narrow arc on the sky. If both Lunar and Solar reflections are detected these two arcs intersect, narrowly confining the source location on the sky. A previous paper calculated reflection by the Moon. Here we calculate the reflectivity of the Sun in the "flat Sun" approximation as a function of angle of incidence and frequency. The reflectivity is high at frequencies $⪅100$MHz and grazing incidence (angles $⪆60^{\circ }$), but exceeds 0.1 for frequencies $⪅80$MHz at all angles. However, the intense thermal emission of the Solar corona likely precludes detection of the Solar reflection of even MJy Galactic bursts like FRB 200428.

4 pp., 3 figures

References in corpus (5)

• Nine New Repeating Fast Radio Burst Sources from CHIME/FRB
• LOFAR Detection of 110-188 MHz Emission and Frequency-Dependent Activity from FRB 20180916B
• Accurate determination of the free-free Gaunt factor; I - non-relativistic Gaunt factors
• STARE2: Detecting Fast Radio Bursts in the Milky Way
• Parametric simulation studies on the wave propagation of solar radio emission: the source size, duration, and position