[en] The three-dimensional structure of an active region filament is studied using nonlinear force-free field extrapolations based on simultaneous observations at a photospheric and a chromospheric height. To that end, we used the Si I 10827 Å line and the He I 10830 Å triplet obtained with the Tenerife Infrared Polarimeter at the Vacuum Tower Telescope (Tenerife). The two extrapolations have been carried out independently from each other and their respective spatial domains overlap in a considerable height range. This opens up new possibilities for diagnostics in addition to the usual ones obtained through a single extrapolation from, typically, a photospheric layer. Among those possibilities, this method allows the determination of an average formation height of the He I 10830 Å signal of ≈2 Mm above the surface of the Sun. It allows, as well, a cross-check of the obtained three-dimensional magnetic structures to verify a possible deviation from the force-free condition, especially at the photosphere. The extrapolations yield a filament formed by a twisted flux rope whose axis is located at about 1.4 Mm above the solar surface. The twisted field lines make slightly more than one turn along the filament within our field of view, which results in 0.055 turns Mm^–1. The convex part of the field lines (as seen from the solar surface) constitutes dips where the plasma can naturally be supported. The obtained three-dimensional magnetic structure of the filament depends on the choice of the observed horizontal magnetic field as determined from the 180° solution of the azimuth. We derive a method to check for the correctness of the selected 180° ambiguity solution.

[en] A representative set of profiles is presented for the Ca II H resonace line in Stokes V and I, for the quiet sun, plages, sunspot umbrae, and a flare, as well as one example of the Ca II K line in a sunspot penumbra. The degree of polarization is highest in the spots and zero in the quiet sun, within error limits. The V profile asymmetries are, however, highest in the flare. The spectra of the Ca II K line are used to obtain a linear relation between V(lambda) and -dI/d(lambda) and a value for B(parallel) of 820 + or - 40 G using the weak-field approximation. 25 refs

[en] Inversions of spectropolarimetric observations of penumbral filaments deliver the stratification of different physical quantities in an optical depth scale. However, without establishing a geometrical height scale, their three-dimensional geometrical structure cannot be derived. This is crucial in understanding the correct spatial variation of physical properties in the penumbral atmosphere and to provide insights into the mechanism capable of explaining the observed penumbral brightness. The aim of this work is to determine a global geometrical height scale in the penumbra by minimizing the divergence of the magnetic field vector and the deviations from static equilibrium as imposed by a force balance equation that includes pressure gradients, gravity, and the Lorentz force. Optical depth models are derived from the inversion of spectropolarimetric data of an active region observed with the Solar Optical Telescope on board the Hinode satellite. We use a genetic algorithm to determine the boundary condition for the inference of geometrical heights. The retrieved geometrical height scale permits the evaluation of the Wilson depression at each pixel and the correlation of physical quantities at each height. Our results fit into the uncombed penumbral scenario, i.e., a penumbra composed of flux tubes with channeled mass flow and with a weaker and more horizontal magnetic field as compared with the background field. The ascending material is hotter and denser than their surroundings. We do not find evidence of overturning convection or field-free regions in the inner penumbral area analyzed. The penumbral brightness can be explained by the energy transfer of the ascending mass carried by the Evershed flow, if the physical quantities below z = -75 km are extrapolated from the results of the inversion.

[en] We determine the entire electrical current density vector in a geometrical three-dimensional volume of the inner penumbra of a sunspot from an inversion of spectropolarimetric data obtained with Hinode/SP. Significant currents are seen to wrap around the hotter, more elevated regions with lower and more horizontal magnetic fields that harbor strong upflows and radial outflows (the intraspines). The horizontal component of the current density vector is 3-4 times larger than the vertical; nearly all previous studies only obtain the vertical component J_z , thus strongly underestimating the current density. The current density J-vector and the magnetic field B-vector form an angle of about 20⁰. The plasma β at the 0 km level is larger than 1 in the intraspines and is one order of magnitude lower in the background component of the penumbra (spines). At the 200 km level, the plasma β is below 0.3, nearly everywhere. The plasma β surface as well as the surface optical depth unity is very corrugated. At the borders of intraspines and inside, B-vector is not force-free at deeper layers and nearly force-free at the top layers. The magnetic field of the spines is close to being potential everywhere. The dissipated ohmic energy is five orders of magnitudes smaller than the solar energy flux and thus negligible for the energy balance of the penumbra.

[en] The design and later use of modern spectropolarimeters and magnetographs require a number of tolerance specifications that allow the developers to build the instrument and then the scientists to interpret the data accuracy. Such specifications depend both on device-specific features and on the physical assumptions underlying the particular measurement technique. Here we discuss general properties of every magnetograph, such as the detectability thresholds for the vector magnetic field and the line-of-sight velocity, as well as specific properties of a given type of instrument, namely, that based on a pair of nematic liquid crystal variable retarders and a Fabry-Pérot etalon (or several) for carrying out the light polarization modulation and spectral analysis, respectively. We derive formulae that give the detection thresholds in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio of the observations and the polarimetric efficiencies of the instrument. Relationships are also established between inaccuracies in the solar physical quantities and instabilities in the instrument parameters. Such relationships allow, for example, one to translate scientific requirements for the velocity or the magnetic field into requirements for temperature or voltage stability. We also demonstrate that this type of magnetograph can theoretically reach the optimum polarimetric efficiencies of an ideal polarimeter, regardless of the optics in between the modulator and the analyzer. Such optics induce changes in the instrument parameters that are calculated.

[en] We report on the discovery of mostly horizontal field channels just outside sunspot penumbrae (in the so-called 'moat' region) that are seen to sustain supersonic flows (line-of-sight component of 6 km s^-1). The spectral signature of these supersonic flows corresponds to circular polarization profiles with an additional, satellite, third lobe of the same sign as the parent sunspot' Stokes V blue lobe, for both downflows and upflows. This is consistent with an outward directed flow that we interpret as the continuation of the magnetized Evershed flow outside sunspots at supersonic speeds. In Stokes Q and U, a clear signature of a transverse field connecting the two flow streams is observed. Such an easily detectable spectral signature should allow for a clear identification of these horizontal field channels in other spectropolarimetric sunspot data. For the spot analyzed in this paper, a total of five channels with this spectral signature have been unambiguously found.

[en] We analyze the spectral asymmetry of Stokes V (circularly polarized) profiles of an individual network patch in the quiet Sun observed by Sunrise/IMaX. At a spatial resolution of 0.''15-0.''18, the network elements contain substructure which is revealed by the spatial distribution of Stokes V asymmetries. The area asymmetry between the red and blue lobes of Stokes V increases from nearly zero at the core of the structure to values close to unity at its edges (single-lobed profiles). Such a distribution of the area asymmetry is consistent with magnetic fields expanding with height, i.e., an expanding magnetic canopy (which is required to fulfill pressure balance and flux conservation in the solar atmosphere). Inversion of the Stokes I and V profiles of the patch confirms this picture, revealing a decreasing field strength and increasing height of the canopy base from the core to the periphery of the network patch. However, the non-roundish shape of the structure and the presence of negative area and amplitude asymmetries reveal that the scenario is more complex than a canonical flux tube expanding with height surrounded by downflows.

[en] We present observational evidence for oscillations of magnetic flux density in the quiet areas of the Sun. The majority of magnetic fields on the solar surface have strengths of the order of or lower than the equipartition field (300-500 G). This results in a myriad of magnetic fields whose evolution is largely determined by the turbulent plasma motions. When granules evolve they squash the magnetic field lines together or pull them apart. Here, we report on the periodic deformation of the shapes of features in circular polarization observed at high resolution with SUNRISE. In particular, we note that the area of patches with a constant magnetic flux oscillates with time, which implies that the apparent magnetic field intensity oscillates in antiphase. The periods associated with this oscillatory pattern are compatible with the granular lifetime and change abruptly, which suggests that these oscillations might not correspond to characteristic oscillatory modes of magnetic structures, but to the forcing by granular motions. In one particular case, we find three patches around the same granule oscillating in phase, which means that the spatial coherence of these oscillations can reach 1600 km. Interestingly, the same kind of oscillatory phenomenon is also found in the upper photosphere.

[en] In a previous work, we reported on the discovery of supersonic magnetic upflows on granular cells in data from the SUNRISE/IMaX instrument. In the present work, we investigate the physical origin of these events employing data from the same instrument but with higher spectral sampling. By means of the inversion of Stokes profiles we are able to recover the physical parameters (temperature, magnetic field, line-of-sight velocity, etc.) present in the solar photosphere at the time of these events. The inversion is performed in a Monte-Carlo-like fashion, that is, repeating it many times with different initializations and retaining only the best result. We find that many of the events are characterized by a reversal in the polarity of the magnetic field along the vertical direction in the photosphere, accompanied by an enhancement in the temperature and by supersonic line-of-sight velocities. In about half of the studied events, large blueshifted and redshifted line-of-sight velocities coexist above/below each other. These features can be explained in terms of magnetic reconnection, where the energy stored in the magnetic field is released in the form of kinetic and thermal energy when magnetic field lines of opposite polarities coalesce. However, the agreement with magnetic reconnection is not perfect and, therefore, other possible physical mechanisms might also play a role.

[en] We report on the photospheric evolution of an intermediate-scale (≈4 Mm footpoint separation) magnetic bipole, from emergence to decay, observed in the quiet Sun at high spatial (0.''3) and temporal (33 s) resolution. The observations were acquired by the Imaging Magnetograph Experiment imaging magnetograph during the first science flight of the SUNRISE balloon-borne solar observatory. The bipole flux content is 6 × 10¹⁷ Mx, representing a structure bridging the gap between granular scale bipoles and the smaller ephemeral regions. Footpoints separate at a speed of 3.5 km s^–1 and reach a maximum distance of 4.5 Mm before the field dissolves. The evolution of the bipole is revealed to be very dynamic: we found a proper motion of the bipole axis and detected a change of the azimuth angle of 90° in 300 s, which may indicate the presence of some writhe in the emerging structure. The overall morphology and behavior are in agreement with previous analyses of bipolar structures emerging at the granular scale, but we also found several similarities with emerging flux structures at larger scales. The flux growth rate is 2.6 × 10¹⁵ Mx s^–1, while the mean decay rate is one order of magnitude smaller. We describe in some detail the decay phase of the bipole footpoints that includes break up into smaller structures, and interaction with preexisting fields leading to cancellation, but it appears to be dominated by an as-yet unidentified diffusive process that removes most of the flux with an exponential flux decay curve. The diffusion constant (8 × 10² km² s^–1) associated with this decay is similar to the values used to describe the large-scale diffusion in flux transport models.