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Register a new userBeyond sunspots: Studies using the McIntosh Archive of global solar magnetic field patterns
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In 1964 (Solar Cycle 20; SC 20), Patrick McIntosh began creating hand-drawn synoptic maps of solar magnetic features, based on H$alpha$ images. These synoptic maps were unique in that they traced magnetic polarity inversion lines, and connected widely separated filaments, fibril patterns, and plage corridors to reveal the large-scale organization of the solar magnetic field. Coronal hole boundaries were later added to the maps, which were produced, more or less continuously, into 2009 (i.e., the start of SC 24). The result was a record of $sim45$ years ($sim570$ Carrington rotations), or nearly four complete solar cycles of synoptic maps. We are currently scanning, digitizing and archiving these maps, with the final, searchab
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Understanding many physical processes in the solar atmosphere requires determination of the magnetic field in each atmospheric layer. However, direct measurements of the magnetic field in the Suns corona are difficult to obtain. Using observations with the Coronal Multi-channel Polarimeter, we have determined the spatial distribution of the plasma density in the corona, and the phase speed of the prevailing transverse magnetohydrodynamic waves within the plasma. We combine these measurements to map the plane-of-sky component of the global coronal magnetic field. The derived field strengths in the corona from 1.05 to 1.35 solar radii are mostly 1-4 Gauss. These results demonstrate the capability of imaging spectroscopy in coronal magnetic field diagnostics.
We compare spectra of the zonal harmonics of the large-scale magnetic field of the Sun using observation results and solar dynamo models. The main solar activity cycle as recorded in these tracers is a much more complicated phenomenon than the eigen solution of solar dynamo equations with the growth saturated by a back reaction of the dynamo-driven magnetic field on solar hydrodynamics. The nominal 11(22)-year cycle as recorded in each mode has a specific phase shift varying from cycle to cycle; the actual length of the cycle varies from one cycle to another and from tracer to tracer. Both the observation and the dynamo model show an exceptional role of the axisymmetric $ell_{5}$ mode. Its origin seems to be readily connected with the formation and evolution of sunspots on the solar surface. The results of observations and dynamo models show a good agreement for the low $ell_{1}$ and $ell_{3}$ modes. The results for these modes do not differ significantly for the axisymmetric and nonaxisymmetric models. Our findings support the idea that the sources of the solar dynamo arise as a result of both the distributed dynamo processes in the bulk of the convection zone and the surface magnetic activity.
Context: In sunspots, the geometric height of continuum optical depth unity is depressed compared to the quiet Sun. This so-called Wilson depression is caused by the Lorentz force of the strong magnetic field inside the spots. However, it is not understood in detail yet, how the Wilson depression is related to the strength and geometry of the magnetic field or to other properties of the sunspot. Aims: We aim to study the dependence of the Wilson depression on the properties of the magnetic field of the sunspots and how exactly the magnetic field contributes to balancing the Wilson depression with respect to the gas pressure of the surroundings of the spots. Methods: Our study is based on 24 spectropolarimetric scans of 12 individual sunspots performed with Hinode. We derived the Wilson depression for each spot using both, a recently developed method that is based on minimizing the divergence of the magnetic field, and an approach developed earlier that enforces an equilibrium between the gas pressure and the magnetic pressure inside the spot and the gas pressure in the quiet Sun, thus neglecting the influence of the curvature force. We then performed a statistical analysis by comparing the Wilson depression resulting from the two techniques with each other and by relating them to various parameters of the sunspots, such as their size or the strength of the magnetic field. Results: We find that the Wilson depression becomes larger for spots with a stronger magnetic field, but not as much as one would expect from the increased magnetic pressure. This suggests that the curvature integral provides an important contribution to the Wilson depression, particularly for spots with a weak magnetic field. Our results indicate that the geometry of the magnetic field in the penumbra is different between spots with different strengths of the average umbral magnetic field.
We investigate the vertical gradient of the magnetic field of sunspots in the photospheric layer. Independent observations were obtained with the SOT/SP onboard the Hinode spacecraft and with the TIP-2 mounted at the VTT. We apply state-of-the-art inversion techniques to both data sets to retrieve the magnetic field and the corresponding vertical gradient. In the sunspot penumbrae we detected patches of negative vertical gradients of the magnetic field strength, i.e.,the magnetic field strength decreases with optical depth in the photosphere. The negative gradient patches are located in the inner and partly in the middle penumbrae in both data sets. From the SOT/SP observations, we found that the negative gradient patches are restricted mainly to the deep photospheric layers and are concentrated near the edges of the penumbral filaments. MHD simulations also show negative gradients in the inner penumbrae, also at the locations of filaments. Both in the observations and simulation negative gradients of the magnetic field vs. optical depth dominate at some radial distances in the penumbra. The negative gradient with respect to optical depth in the inner penumbrae persists even after averaging in the azimuthal direction, both in the observations and, to a lesser extent, also in MHD simulations. We interpret the observed localized presence of the negative vertical gradient of the magnetic field strength in the observations as a consequence of stronger field from spines expanding with height and closing above the weaker field inter-spines. The presence of the negative gradients with respect to optical depth after azimuthal averaging can be explained by two different mechanisms: the high corrugation of equal optical depth surfaces and the cancellation of polarized signal due to the presence of unresolved opposite polarity patches in the deeper layers of the penumbra.
The extended minimum of Solar Cycle 23, the extremely quiet solar-wind conditions prevailing, and the mini-maximum of Solar Cycle 24 drew global attention and many authors have since attempted to predict the amplitude of the upcoming Solar Cycle 25, which is predicted to be the third successive weak cycle; it is a unique opportunity to probe the Sun during such quiet periods. Earlier work has established a steady decline, over two decades, in solar photospheric fields at latitudes above $45^{circ}$ and a similar decline in solar-wind micro-turbulence levels as measured by interplanetary scintillation (IPS) observations. However, the relation between the photospheric magnetic fields and those in the low corona/solar-wind are not straightforward. Therefore, in the present article, we have used potential-field source-surface (PFSS) extrapolations to deduce global magnetic-fields using synoptic magnetograms observed with National Solar Observatory (NSO), Kitt Peak, USA (NSO/KP) and Solar Optical Long-term Investigation of the Sun (NSO/SOLIS) instruments during 1975-2018. Furthermore, we have measured the normalized scintillation index [m] using the IPS observations carried out at the Institute of Space Earth Environment Research (ISEE), Japan during 1983-2017. From these observations, we have found that, since the mid-1990s, the magnetic-field over different latitudes at 2.5 $rm R_{odot}$ and 10 $rm R_{odot}$(extrapolated using PFSS method) has decreased by $approx 11.3-22.2 %$. In phase with the declining magnetic-fields, the quantity m also declined by $approx 23.6 %$. These observations emphasize the inter-relationship between the global magnetic-field and various turbulence parameters in the solar corona and solar wind.
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