The Temperature - Magnetic Field Relation in Observed and Simulated Sunspots

Sobotka, M.; Rezaei, R.
Bibliographical reference

Solar Physics, Volume 292, Issue 12, article id. #188, 12 pp.

Advertised on:
12
2017
Journal
Number of authors
2
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
4
Refereed citations
4
Description
Observations of the relation between continuum intensity and magnetic field strength in sunspots have been made for nearly five decades. This work presents full-Stokes measurements of the full-split (g = 3) line Fe i 1564.85 nm with a spatial resolution of 0.5^'' obtained with the GREGOR Infrared Spectrograph in three large sunspots. The continuum intensity is corrected for instrumental scattered light, and the brightness temperature is calculated. Magnetic field strength and inclination are derived directly from the line split and the ratio of Stokes components. The continuum intensity (temperature) relations to the field strength are studied separately in the umbra, light bridges, and penumbra. The results are consistent with previous studies, and it was found that the scatter of values in the relations increases with increasing spatial resolution thanks to resolved fine structures. The observed relations show trends common for the umbra, light bridges, and the inner penumbra, while the outer penumbra has a weaker magnetic field than the inner penumbra at equal continuum intensities. This fact can be interpreted in terms of the interlocking comb magnetic structure of the penumbra. A comparison with data obtained from numerical simulations was made. The simulated data generally have a stronger magnetic field and a weaker continuum intensity than the observations, which may be explained by stray light and limited spatial resolution of the observations, and also by photometric inaccuracies of the simulations.
Related projects
Project Image
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
Tanausú del
Pino Alemán