Bibcode
Orozco-Suárez, D.; Bellot Rubio, L. R.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 751, Issue 1, article id. 2 (2012).
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5
2012
Journal
Citations
48
Refereed citations
40
Description
We present results from the analysis of Fe I 630 nm measurements of the
quiet Sun taken with the spectropolarimeter of the Hinode satellite. Two
data sets with noise levels of 1.2 × 10-3 and 3
× 10-4 are employed. We determine the
distribution of field strengths and inclinations by inverting the two
observations with a Milne-Eddington model atmosphere. The inversions
show a predominance of weak, highly inclined fields. By means of several
tests we conclude that these properties cannot be attributed to photon
noise effects. To obtain the most accurate results, we focus on the
27.4% of the pixels in the second data set that have linear polarization
amplitudes larger than 4.5 times the noise level. The vector magnetic
field derived for these pixels is very precise because both circular and
linear polarization signals are used simultaneously. The inferred field
strength, inclination, and filling factor distributions agree with
previous results, supporting the idea that internetwork (IN) fields are
weak and very inclined, at least in about one quarter of the area
occupied by the IN. These properties differ from those of network
fields. The average magnetic flux density and the mean field strength
derived from the 27.4% of the field of view with clear linear
polarization signals are 16.3 Mx cm-2 and 220 G,
respectively. The ratio between the average horizontal and vertical
components of the field is approximately 3.1. The IN fields do not
follow an isotropic distribution of orientations.
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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