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Small-scale magnetic structures on the Sun

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Summary

The Sun provides us with a unique astrophysics laboratory for exploring the fundamental processes of interaction between a turbulent, gravitationally stratified plasma and magnetic fields. Although the magnetic structures and their evolution can be observed in considerable detail through the use of the Zeeman effect in photospheric spectral lines, a major obstacle has been that all magnetic structures on the Sun, excluding sunspots, are smaller than what can be resolved by present-day instruments. This has led to the development of indirect, spectral techniques (combinations of two or more polarized spectral lines), which overcome the resolution obstacle and have revealed unexpected properties of the small-scale magnetic structures. Indirect empirical and theoretical estimates of the sizes of the flux elements indicate that they may be within reach of planned new telescopes, and that we are on the verge of a unified understanding of the diverse phenomena of solar and stellar activity.

In the present review we describe the observational properties of the smallscale field structures (while indicating the diagnostic methods used), and relate these properties to the theoretical concepts of formation, equilibrium structure, and origin of the surface magnetic flux.

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  1. High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 3000, 80307, Boulder, CO, USA

    J. O. Stenflo

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On leave from Institute of Astronomy, ETH-Zentrum, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland

The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation

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Stenflo, J.O. Small-scale magnetic structures on the Sun. The Astron Astrophys Rev 1, 3–48 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00872483

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