On the value of `αAR' from Vector Magnetograph data - II. Spatial Resolution, Field of View, and Validity

Physics

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Scientific paper

This investigation is the second of two centering on the parameter α=(∇xB_h)_z/B_z=μ_0J_z/B_z and its derivation from photospheric vector magnetogram data. While α can be evaluated at every spatial position where the vector B is measured, for many reasons it is useful to determine a single value of α to parameterize the magnetic complexity of an entire active region, here called α_AR (see Leka and Skumanich, 1999). As such, the limitations in today's vector magnetograph data, e.g., finite spatial resolution and limited field of view, may influence any final `α_AR' value. We apply three methods of calculating `α_AR' to degraded high-spatial-resolution data and find that in general the discrepancies worsen for decreasing resolution compared to the original. We apply the three methods to sub-regions centered on the constituent sunspots for AR 7815. Two of the sub-regions are shown to have magnetic twist with significant magnitude but opposite sign. We show by mosaicing or otherwise combining separate sunspot observations that a measure of α_AR can be calculated which is consistent with a single large field-of-view observation. Still, the α_AR~0 assigned for the entire active region is an average, and does not accurately represent the magnetic morphology of this flux system. To measure the validity of the α_AR parameterization, we demonstrate that, from each method, a relevant quantity can be calculated which describes the `goodness of fit' of the resulting α_AR. Given the spatial variation of α(x,y) over an active region, it is suggested that such a second parameter be used either to indicate uncertainty in α_AR or as a criterion for data selection, as appropriate.

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