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A new model of amplitude fluctuations for radio propagation in solar corona during superior solar conjunction
Author(s) -
Xu Guanjun,
Song Zhaohui
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
radio science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1944-799X
pISSN - 0048-6604
DOI - 10.1002/2015rs005769
Subject(s) - physics , solar wind , amplitude , spacecraft , conjunction (astronomy) , computational physics , spectral density , corona (planetary geology) , solar minimum , space weather , radio propagation , signal (programming language) , coronal mass ejection , electron density , turbulence , coronal hole , solar cycle , meteorology , plasma , astrophysics , optics , astronomy , computer science , telecommunications , quantum mechanics , astrobiology , venus , programming language
Radio communication links through the solar corona are disturbed by electron density fluctuations caused by coronal turbulence. This has become a problem for deep space exploration when the spacecraft is near superior conjunction with the Sun. With a forecast of the signal fluctuations the link could be adapted to compensate for these impairments in real time. Motivated by this need, we present a theoretical study of the signal fluctuations including an analytical expression for the amplitude fluctuations. The proposed model includes an anisotropic spectrum of density fluctuations, the solar wind “outer scale,” and the spectral exponent. The performance of this analytical solution is demonstrated by comparison with published data from spacecraft and with other existing analytical methods.