Electron acceleration and radio emission following the early interaction of two coronal mass ejections

We use three-dimensional reconstructions of the two associated CME eruptions to show the possible origin of the observed radio emission.Results. We identified three moving radio bursts at unusually high altitudes in the corona that are located at the northern CME flank and move outwards synchronously with the CME. The radio bursts correspond to fine-structured emission in dynamic spectra with durations of similar to 1 s, and they may show forward or reverse frequency drifts.

Since the CME expands closely following an earlier CME, a low coronal CME-CME interaction is likely responsible for the observed radio emission.Conclusions. For the first time, we report the existence of new types of short duration bursts, which are signatures of electron beams accelerated at the CME flank. Two subsequent CMEs originating from the same region and propagating in similar directions provide a complex configuration of the ambient magnetic field and favourable conditions for the creation of collapsing magnetic traps.

These traps are formed if a CME-driven wave, such as a shock wave, is likely to intersect surrounding magnetic field lines twice. Electrons will thus be further accelerated at the mirror points created at these intersections and eventually escape to produce bursts of plasma emission with forward and reverse drifts.