Plasma processes associated with solar activity take place on small spatial and temporal scales. They are related with energetic electrons, which can emit radio radiation. Therefore, nonthermal electrons can be traced by radio astronomical methods.
Signatures of coronal plasma processes appear as solar radio bursts in dynamic radio spectra (on this web page you will find examples). There is a morphologic gross classification according to the spectral type into five types:
A lot of information is hidden in spectral fine structures. Therefore, solar bursts are recorded with high frequency and time resolution. This is done in Germany by the Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam at the remotely controled Solar Radioastronomy Observatory in Tremsdorf (15 km south-east of Potsdam).
For our group, the radio spectra observed at Potsdam represent the starting point of the theoretical study of fundamental plasma processes in the corona. Due to the good spectral coverage, the high time resolution, and the achieved sensitivity, this data set yields an excellent guide and time line for assembling associated data sets from complementary ground- and spacebased instruments. Our data are used e.g. together with the radio imaging facility of the Paris-Meudon Observatory at Nancay, France; the radio and plasma instruments onboard the ULYSSES and WIND spacecrafts, the soft X-ray images from the YOHKOH satellite, and the coronographic images seen by the Large Angle Spectrographic Coronograph and the Extrem Ultraviolet Imager aboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).