Bibcode
DOI
Vargas Domínguez, S.; Rouppe van der Voort, L.; Bonet, J. A.; Martínez Pillet, V.; Van Noort, M.; Katsukawa, Y.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 679, Issue 1, pp. 900-909.
Advertised on:
5
2008
Journal
Citations
37
Refereed citations
35
Description
High-resolution time series of sunspots have been obtained with the
Swedish 1 m Solar Telescope between 2003 and 2006 at different locations
on the solar disk. Proper motions in seven different active regions have
been studied. The analysis was performed by applying local correlation
tracking to every series of sunspots, each of them more than 40 minutes
long. The sunspots' shapes include a different variety of penumbral
configurations. We report on the systematic behavior of the large-scale
outflows surrounding the sunspots, commonly known as moat flows, that
are essentially present only when preceded by a penumbra not tangential
but perpendicular to the sunspot border. We present one case for which
this rule appears not to be confirmed. We speculate that the magnetic
neutral line, which is located in the vicinity of the anomalous region,
might be responsible for blocking the outflow. These new results confirm
the systematic and strong relation between the moat flows and the
existence of penumbrae. A comparative statistical study between moats
and standard granulation is also performed.
Related projects
Solar and Stellar Magnetism
Magnetic fields are at the base of star formation and stellar structure and evolution. When stars are born, magnetic fields brake the rotation during the collapse of the mollecular cloud. In the end of the life of a star, magnetic fields can play a key role in the form of the strong winds that lead to the last stages of stellar evolution. During
Tobías
Felipe García