Bibcode
DOI
Sánchez Almeida, J.; Lites, B. W.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 532, Issue 2, pp. 1215-1229.
Advertised on:
4
2000
Journal
Citations
165
Refereed citations
127
Description
This paper is the second in a series that models photospheric magnetic
structures in terms of atmospheres having optically thin fluctuations of
magnetic field and thermodynamic state (the MISMA hypothesis). We apply
an inversion procedure to the polarization of Fe I λ6301.5 and Fe
I λ6302.5 observed in network and internetwork regions with the
Advanced Stokes Polarimeter. Some 5200 independent spectra, comprising
mildly asymmetric to very abnormal Stokes profiles, were reproduced by a
single type of model atmosphere. It has three components, two that are
magnetized and one that is not. A large fraction among the field
strengths we measure are in the kG regime, but simulations suggest that
the polarization of the observed Fe I lines weakens below detectable
levels for fields substantially smaller than the observed ones.
Synthesis of Stokes profiles of the IR Fe I λ15648.5 line in
MISMAs reveals the opposite behavior, i.e., an increase of polarization
for sub-kG fields. The highly transparent MISMAs inferred from
observations are significantly brighter in the continuum than an
unmagnetized atmosphere. The mass of the magnetic structures tends to be
at rest, although a minor fraction undergoes strong downflows. Downflows
are also present in the nonmagnetic environment. A significant number of
fitted Stokes profiles require opposite magnetic polarities within the
same resolution element. The occurrence of mixed polarities increases
with weakening degree of polarization, such that 25% of the weakest
signals require mixed polarity. The weak polarization signals account
for most of the total (unsigned) magnetic flux of the observed region.
By extrapolation, this indicates that a significant fraction of
photospheric magnetic flux remains undetected. The MISMA framework
provides a unified and physically consistent scenario for interpretation
of quiet Sun magnetism. Moreover, it is the only one available at
present that is able to fit the abnormal Stokes profiles as revealed by
the new generation of sensitive Stokes polarimeters.