Related papers: On the (in)stability of sunspots
The fluting instability has been suggested as the driver of the subsurface structure of sunspot flux tubes. We conducted a series of numerical experiments where we used flux tubes with different initial curvatures to study the effect of the…
The rise of flux-tubes with intense magnetic fields from the base of the convection zone to the solar surface has been substantiated as a probable mechanism for sunspot formation. The origin of flux-tubes of sufficient strength (~10^5 G) is…
We present a series of numerical sunspot models addressing the subsurface field and flow structure in up to 16 Mm deep domains covering up to 2 days of temporal evolution. Changes in the photospheric appearance of the sunspots are driven by…
We investigate the rising flux tube and the formation of sunspots in an unprecedentedly deep computational domain that covers the whole convection zone with a radiative magnetohydrodynamics simulation. Previous calculations had shallow…
One of the puzzling features of solar magnetism is formation of long-living compact magnetic structures; such as sunspots and pores, in the highly turbulent upper layer of the solar convective zone. We use realistic radiative 3D MHD…
We present a series of high-resolution sunspot simulations that cover a time span of up to 100 hours. The simulation domain extends about 18 Mm in depth beneath the photosphere and 98 Mm horizontally. We use open boundary conditions that do…
After a dynamically active emergence phase, magnetic flux at the solar surface soon ceases to show strong signs of the subsurface dynamics of its parent magnetic structure. This indicates that some kind of disconnection of the emerged flux…
We consider the effects of material flows on the dynamics of toroidal magnetic flux tubes located close to the base of the solar convection zone, initially within the overshoot region. The problem is to find the physical conditions in which…
Sunspots are of basic interest in the study of the Sun. Their relevance ranges from them being an activity indicator of magnetic fields to being the place where coronal mass ejections and flares erupt. They are therefore also an important…
Sunspots survive on the solar surface for time-scales ranging from days to months. This requires them to be in an equilibrium involving magnetic fields and hydrodynamic forces. Unfortunately, theoretical models of sunspot equilibrium are…
Context. Observations of flux emergence indicate that rotational velocities may develop within sunspots. However, the dependence of this rotation on sub-photospheric field strength and twist remains largely unknown. Aims. We investigate the…
Context. Solar eruptions and high flare activity often accompany the rapid rotation of sunspots. The study of sunspot rotation and the mechanisms driving this motion are therefore key to our understanding of how the solar atmosphere attains…
We investigate the evolution of the horizontal flow field around sunspots during their decay by analysing its extension and horizontal velocity around eight spots using SDO/HMI Doppler maps. By assuming a radially symmetrical flow field,…
It was empirically determined that the umbra-penumbra boundaries of stable sunspots are characterized by a constant value of the vertical magnetic field. We analyzed the evolution of the photospheric magnetic field properties of a decaying…
We present a realistic numerical model of sunspot and active region formation based on the emergence of flux bundles generated in a solar convective dynamo. To this end we use the magnetic and velocity fields in a horizontal layer near the…
We perform idealised numerical simulations of magnetic buoyancy instabilities in a model of the solar tachocline. We introduce a simplified model of magnetic flux pumping in an upper layer (the convection zone), and study the effects of its…
Strong solar flares occur in $\delta $-spots characterized by the opposite-polarity magnetic fluxes in a single penumbra. Sunspot formation via flux emergence from the convection zone to the photosphere can be strongly affected by…
Magnetic field emerges at the surface of the Sun as sunspots and active regions. This process generates a poloidal magnetic field from a rising toroidal flux tube, it is a crucial but poorly understood aspect of the solar dynamo. The…
It is generally believed that sunspots are the emergent part of magnetic flux tubes in the solar interior. These tubes are created at the base of the convection zone and rise to the surface due to their magnetic buoyancy. The motion of…
We analyse a sunspot simulation in an effort to understand the origin of the convective instabilities giving rise to the penumbral and umbral distinct regimes. We applied the criterion from Gough \& Tayler (1966), accounting for the…