Deciphering Type III Solar Radio Bursts Associated with X-class Flares during the 2024 Mother’s Day Storm

Type III solar radio bursts trace electron acceleration and escape during solar flares and jets, offering key diagnostics of solar eruptive processes. Using high-resolution Parker Solar Probe (PSP) data, we analyzed 11 type III bursts associated with X-class flares during the 2024 Mother’s Day solar storm. Our analysis of radio flux at 1 and 2 MHz showed strong correlations with GOES soft X-ray (SXR) flux ( τ @ 1MHz = 0.841 and τ @ 2MHz = 0.667, excluding outliers). Timing analysis, corrected to a common solar reference, revealed that the peak of the 1 MHz radio emission precedes the peak of the SXR time derivative ( dSXR/dt ) by 1.57 ± 3.43 minutes, while the radio onset leads the dSXR/dt peak by 3.42 ± 3.92 minutes. These delays characterize the thermal loading time required for the closed-loop system to reach peak heating power following the initial impulsive escape of electrons. A strong correlation ( τ = 0.648) between flare longitude and radio flux is observed, which we interpret as being conditional on the specific heliospheric configuration of the storm. Using multi-vantage-point observation from PSP, Solar Orbiter, STEREO-A, and Wind, source localization reveals a mean longitudinal offset of (−10 . ° 55 ± 33 . ° 63) (95% confidence interval: [−33 . ° 14, 12 . ° 04]) relative to flare position. Our results indicate no persistent systematic longitudinal drift, contrasting with the systematic eastward trend. We attribute this high degree of scattering to coronal mass ejection (CME)–CME interactions, magnetic field distortions, storm-induced density gradients, and magnetic anomalies.