Prospects for radio detection of stellar plasma beams

Abstract

Violent solar eruptions are often accompanied by relativistic beams of charged particles. In the solar context they are referred to as solar particle events and are known to generate a characteristic swept-frequency radio burst. Due to their ionising potential, these beams influence atmospheric chemistry and habitability. Radio observations provide a crucial discriminant between stellar flares that do and do not generate particle beams. Here I use solar empirical data and semi-quantitative theoretical estimates to gauge the feasibility of detecting the associated radio bursts. My principal conclusion is that a dedicated search for swept frequency radio bursts on second timescales in existing low-frequency (ν ≲ 102 MHz) datasets, while technically challenging, will likely provide the evidence high-energy particles beams in Sun-like stars.