Polarization of herringbone structure in Type II bursts

The observed polarization characteristics of 16 events involving herringbone Type II bursts are reported. It is shown that the distributions for F and H herringbones are similar to those for the F and H components of the Type III bursts with F/H structure. Preliminary results indicate that the ratio of the degree of polarization of the fundamental to that of the harmonic is approximately 3. The similarity of the polarization characteristics of herringbone structures and those of the F/H Type III bursts supports the theory that they are generated by similar mechanisms. The observed low degree of polarization of the backbone portion of herringbone Type II bursts is in agreement with the mechanism proposed by Wild et al (1963).