Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2008-04-08
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
26 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication on the Astrophysical Journal
Scientific paper
10.1086/588775
We report on new spectro-polarimetric measurements with simultaneous filter imaging observation, revealing the frequent appearance of polarization signals indicating high-speed, probably supersonic, downflows that are associated with at least three different configurations of magnetic fields in the solar photosphere. The observations were carried out with the Solar Optical Telescope onboard the {\em Hinode} satellite. High speed downflows are excited when a moving magnetic feature is newly formed near the penumbral boundary of sunspots. Also, a new type of downflows is identified at the edge of sunspot umbra that lack accompanying penumbral structures. These may be triggered by the interaction of magnetic fields sweeped by convection with well-concentrated magnetic flux. Another class of high speed downflows are observed in quiet sun and sunspot moat regions. These are closely related to the formation of small concentrated magnetic flux patches. High speed downflows of all types are transient time-dependent mass motions. These findings suggest that the excitation of supersonic mass flows are one of the key observational features of the dynamical evolution occurring in magnetic-field fine structures on the solar surface.
Ichimoto Kiyoshi
Katsukawa Yukio
Kubo Masahito
Lites Bruce W.
Nagata Shin'ichi
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