Bibcode
Bommier, V.; Martínez González, M.; Bianda, M.; Frisch, H.; Asensio Ramos, A.; Gelly, B.; Landi Degl'Innocenti, E.
Bibliographical reference
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 506, Issue 3, 2009, pp.1415-1428
Advertised on:
11
2009
Journal
Citations
25
Refereed citations
20
Description
Context: The quiet Sun magnetic field probability density function (PDF)
remains poorly known. Modeling this field also introduces a magnetic
filling factor that is also poorly known. With these two quantities, PDF
and filling factor, the statistical description of the quiet Sun
magnetic field is complex and needs to be clarified. Aims: In the
present paper, we propose a procedure that combines direct
determinations and inversion results to derive the magnetic field vector
and filling factor, and their PDFs. Methods: We used
spectro-polarimetric observations taken with the ZIMPOL polarimeter
mounted on the THEMIS telescope. The target was a quiet region at disk
center. We analyzed the data by means of the UNNOFIT inversion code,
with which we inferred the distribution of the mean magnetic field
α B, α being the magnetic filling factor. The distribution
of α was derived by an independent method, directly from the
spectro-polarimetric data. The magnetic field PDF p(B) could then be
inferred. By introducing a joint PDF for the filling factor and the
magnetic field strength, we have clarified the definition of the PDF of
the quiet Sun magnetic field when the latter is assumed not to be
volume-filling. Results: The most frequent local average magnetic
field strength is found to be 13 G. We find that the magnetic filling
factor is related to the magnetic field strength by the simple law
α = B_1/B with B1 = 15 G. This result is compatible
with the Hanle weak-field determinations, as well as with the stronger
field determinations from the Zeeman effect (kGauss field filling 1-2%
of space). From linear fits, we obtain the analytical dependence of the
magnetic field PDF. Our analysis has also revealed that the magnetic
field in the quiet Sun is isotropically distributed in direction. Conclusions: We conclude that the quiet Sun is a complex medium where
magnetic fields having different field strengths and filling factors
coexist. Further observations with a better polarimetric accuracy are,
however, needed to confirm the results obtained in the present work.
Based on observations made with the French-Italian telescope THEMIS
operated by the CNRS and CNR on the island of Tenerife in the Spanish
Observatorio del Teide of the Instituto de Astrofísica de
Canarias. Present address: Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias,
vía Láctea s/n, 38205 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
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