STEREO WAVES Capabilities for Studying Initiation and Early-time Dynamics of Solar Eruptions

In 2006, NASA will launch the twin STEREO spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center into a pair of heliocentric orbits near 1 AU such that the spacecraft will move away from Earth (ahead and behind) at about 22 degrees per year. The purposes of the STEREO Mission are to understand the causes and mechanisms of coronal mass ejection (CME) initiation and to follow the propagation of CMEs through the heliosphere. Additionally, STEREO will study the mechanisms and sites of solar energetic particle (SEP) acceleration and determine 3-D time-dependent traces of the magnetic topology, temperature, density and velocity of the solar wind between the sun and Earth. To accomplish these goals, each STEREO spacecraft will be equipped with set of optical and particles and fields instruments including the STEREO WAVES (SWAVES) instrument which will use radio waves to track the location of CME-driven shocks (via type I1 bursts) and the 3-D topology of open field lines along which energetic particles flow (via the ubiquitous type I11 bursts). Type 11 bursts very often commence with a series of special type 111 bursts (called SA or type 111-L bursts) that likely coincide with CME liftoff time, thus SWAVES should be able to determine this time to within 15 sec. It is also known that the occurrence of SEP events is usually accompanied by type I1 radio bursts at decametric wavelengths as well as strong type III bursts at all wavelengths. SWAVES will be able to determine the initiation of these bursts to within 15 sec, and from the simultaneous measurements from the two spacecraft, should be able to triangulate their source locations. The utility of radio observations and the capabilities of SWAVES will be illustrated by showing a number of examples using the similar Wind WAVES instrument in combination with SOH0 coronagraph and RHESSI high energy X-ray/gamma ray observations.