Related papers: Evershed and counter-Evershed flows in sunspot MHD…
We report on the discovery of mostly horizontal field channels just outside sunspot penumbrae (in the so-called `moat' region) that are seen to sustain supersonic flows (line-of-sight component of 6 km s{-1}). The spectral signature of…
Whereas penumbral models during the last 15 years have been successful in explaining Evershed flows and magnetic field inclination variations in terms of flux tubes, the lack of contact between these models and a convective process needed…
High resolution spectropolarimetric observations by Hinode reveal the existence of supersonic downflows at the umbra-penumbra boundary of 3 sunspots that was recently reported by Louis et al. (2010). These downflows are observed to be…
Sunspots are crucial for exploring how magnetic fields and plasma flows interact in the solar atmosphere, spanning from the stable photosphere to the shock-dominated chromosphere. To determine the thermal, magnetic, and kinematic properties…
Magnetically-driven hotspot variations (which are tied to atmospheric wind variations) in hot Jupiters are studied using non-linear numerical simulations of a shallow-water magnetohydrodynamic (SWMHD) system and a linear analysis of…
High resolution spectropolarimetric data obtained by HINODE is used to characterize the small-scale penumbral magnetic field as well as the vertical and horizontal component of the Evershed effect (EE). The results demonstrate that the…
We present numerical simulations of active region scale flux emergence covering a time span of up to 6 days. Flux emergence is driven by a bottom boundary condition that advects a semi-torus of magnetic field with $1.7 \times 10^{22}$ Mx…
Context: Sunspot penumbrae harbor highly structured magnetic fields and flows. The moving flux tube model offers an explanation for several observed phenomena, e.g. the Evershed effect and bright penumbral grains. Aims: A wealth of…
The analyses of sunspot observations revealed a fundamental magnetic property of the umbral boundary, the invariance of the vertical component of the magnetic field. We aim to analyse the magnetic properties of the umbra-penumbra boundary…
We simulate the rise through the upper convection zone and emergence through the solar surface of initially uniform, untwisted, horizontal magnetic flux with the same entropy as the non-magnetic plasma that is advected into a domain 48 Mm…
Plasma loops or plumes rooted in sunspot umbrae often harbor downflows with speeds of 100 km/s. These downflows are supersonic at transition region temperatures of 0.1 MK. The source of these flows is not well understood. We aim to…
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…
We study the temporal evolution of downflows observed at the lateral edges of penumbral filaments in a sunspot located very close to the disk center. Our analysis is based on a sequence of nearly diffraction-limited scans of the Fe I 617.3…
The generation of magnetic flux in the solar interior and its transport from the convection zone into the photosphere, the chromosphere, and the corona will be in the focus of solar physics research for the next decades. With 4m class…
Downflows on the solar surface are suspected to play a major role in the dynamics of the convection zone. We investigate the existence of the long-lasting downflows whose effects influence the interior of the Sun and the outer layers. We…
We study the structure and evolution of the horizontal proper motions in a regular sunspot penumbra, very close to the solar disc center, in active region NOAA 11092 using a 48 min time sequences of blue continuum images recorded by…
High-resolution observations of sunspots have revealed the existence of dark cores inside the bright filaments of the penumbra. Here we present the stationary solution of the heat transfer equation in a stratified penumbra consisting of…
Recent Sunrise/IMaX observations have revealed the existence of supersonic magnetic flows. Our aim is to determine the origin of such flows by using realistic MHD simulations. We simulate cancellation and emergence of magnetic flux through…
We analyze the high-resolution observations from the 1.6m telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory that cover an active region filament. Counter-streaming motions are clearly observed in the filament. The northern end of the…
Solar magnetic fields comprise an 11-year activity cycle, represented by the number of sunspots. The maintenance of such a solar magnetic field can be attributed to fluid motion in the convection zone, i.e. a dynamo. This study conducts the…