Related papers: Theoretical Models of Sunspot Structure and Dynami…
The sunspot penumbra comprises numerous thin, radially elongated filaments that are central for heat transport within the penumbra, but whose structure is still not clear. To investigate the fine-scale structure of these filaments, we…
Context. It is unclear why there is a rather sharp boundary in sunspots between the umbra and the penumbra. Both regions exhibit magnetoconvection, manifesting in penumbral filaments in the penumbra and in umbral dots in the umbra. Aims.…
The penumbra of a sunspot is a fascinating phenomenon featuring complex velocity and magnetic fields. It challenges both our understanding of radiative magneto-convection and our means to measure and derive the actual geometry of the…
We discuss a numerical 3D radiation-MHD simulation of penumbral fine structure in a small sunspot. This simulation shows the development of short filamentary structures with horizontal flows, similar to observed Evershed flows, and an…
To investigate the penumbral plasma flow on a small scale, spectropolari- metric data of sunspots recorded by HINODE was used. Maps of Doppler velocities were created by evaluating the bisector in the line-wing, thereby visualizing the flow…
MHD simulations of sunspots have successfully reproduced many aspects of sunspot fine structure as consequence of magneto convection in inclined magnetic field. We study how global sunspot properties and penumbral fine structure depend on…
Context. Fully fledged penumbrae have been widely studied both observationally and theoretically. Yet the relatively fast process of penumbra formation has not been studied closely with high spatial resolution. Aims. We investigate the…
I deduced a 3-D sunspot model that is in agreement with spectropolarimetric observations, to address the question of penumbral heating by the repetitive rise of flow channels. I performed inversions of data taken simultaneously in infrared…
Advances in instrumentation have made it possible to study sunspots with unprecedented detail. New capabilities include imaging observations at a resolution of 0.1" (70 km on the sun), spectroscopy at ~0.2", and simultaneous…
Continuous observations of sunspot penumbrae with the Solar Optical Telescope aboard \textit{Hinode} clearly show that the outer boundary of the penumbra fluctuates around its averaged position. The penumbral outer boundary moves inward…
We present results of numerical 3D MHD simulations with radiative energy transfer of fine structure in a small sunspot of about 4 Mm width. The simulations show the development of filamentary structures and flow patterns that are, except…
Solar activity is controlled by the magnetic field, which also causes the variability of the solar irradiance that in turn is thought to influence the climate on Earth. The magnetic field manifests itself in the form of structures of…
We describe a scenario for the topology of the magnetic field in penumbrae that accounts for recent observations showing upflows, downflows, and reverse magnetic polarities. According to our conjecture, short narrow magnetic loops fill the…
We interpret penumbral filaments as due to convection in field-free, radially aligned gaps just below the visible surface of the penumbra, intruding into a nearly potential field above. This solves the classical discrepancy between the…
Context. The bright heads of penumbral filaments, penumbral grains (PGs), are manifestations of hot plasma flows rising to the surface. They are observed to move horizontally toward the sunspot umbra or away from it. Recent analyses of…
Results from a realistic simulation of 3D radiative magneto-convection in a strong background magnetic field corresponding to the conditions in sunspot umbrae are shown. The convective energy transport is dominated by narrow upflow plumes…
The generation of magnetic flux in the solar interior and its transport to the outer solar atmosphere will be in the focus of solar physics research for the next decades. One key-ingredient is the process of magnetic flux emergence into the…
The uncombed penumbral model explains the structure of the sunspot penumbra in terms of thick magnetic fibrils embedded in a magnetic surrounding atmosphere. This model has been successfully applied to explain the polarization signals…
Comparison of photographic observations and vector-magnetograph measurements demonstrate, that the outer boundary of the sunspot penumbra --even in complex sunspot groups-- closely follows the 0.075T isogauss line of the total value of the…
Context : Penumbrae are an important characteristic of sunspots, whose formation is intricately related to the nature of sub-photospheric magnetic fields. Aims : We study the formation of a penumbra in a decaying sunspot and compare its…