Regensburg 2007 – scientific programme
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EP: Fachverband Extraterrestrische Physik
EP 8: Sonne
EP 8.5: Talk
Wednesday, March 28, 2007, 15:00–15:15, H46
Tracking of moving magnetic flux concentrations around sunspots in the photosphere — •Xiaobo Li1,2, Jörg Büchner1, and Jun Zhang2 — 1Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Max-Planck-Str.2, 37191 Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany — 2Solar Magnetism and Activity Group, The National Astronomical Observatories, CAS, 20A Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100012 China
During the decay process of sunspots, their magnetic flux decreases with time. The still open question is, where does this flux go? For example, small flux concentrations were observed to move away from sunspots, however, both same and opposite to the sunspots' magnetic field directed polarities are seen. Using time series of MDI/SOHO high-resolution line-of-sight magnetograms, we traced the flow of flux concentrations around several mature sunspots. For this purpose, we developed an automatic computerized tracking method. We statistically analyzed the kinematic and magnetic characteristics of these flows. We studied the effects of sunspots' geometry and developing phase upon these statistical values. The relationship between the flows and the decrease in the sunspots' total flux is discussed.