Bibcode
Shchukina, Nataliya; Trujillo-Bueno, J.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 731, Issue 1, article id. L21 (2011).
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4
2011
Citations
36
Refereed citations
29
Description
The bulk of the quiet solar photosphere is thought to be significantly
magnetized, due to the ubiquitous presence of a tangled magnetic field
at subresolution scales with an average strength langBrang ~ 100 G. This
conclusion was reached through detailed three-dimensional (3D) radiative
transfer modeling of the Hanle effect in the Sr I 4607 Å line,
using the microturbulent field approximation and assuming that the shape
of the probability density function of the magnetic field strength is
exponential. Here, we relax both approximations by modeling the observed
scattering polarization in terms of the Hanle effect produced by the
magnetic field of a 3D photospheric model resulting from a
(state-of-the-art) magneto-convection simulation with surface dynamo
action. We show that the scattering polarization amplitudes observed in
the Sr I 4607 Å line can be explained only after enhancing the
magnetic strength of the photospheric model by a sizable scaling factor,
F ≈ 10, which implies langBrang ≈ 130 G in the upper photosphere.
We also argue that in order to explain both the Hanle depolarization of
the Sr I 4607 Å line and the Zeeman signals observed in Fe I
lines, we need to introduce a height-dependent scaling factor, such that
the ensuing langBrang ≈ 160 G in the low photosphere and langBrang
≈ 130 G in the upper photosphere.
Related projects
Magnetism, Polarization and Radiative Transfer in Astrophysics
Magnetic fields pervade all astrophysical plasmas and govern most of the variability in the Universe at intermediate time scales. They are present in stars across the whole Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, in galaxies, and even perhaps in the intergalactic medium. Polarized light provides the most reliable source of information at our disposal for the
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