Skip to main content
Log in

Influence of Supergranulation on the Properties of Sunspot Bipoles

  • Published:
Geomagnetism and Aeronomy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The properties of solar bipoles based on data from magnetic field observations at Mount Wilson Observatory during the period of 1917–2016 are considered. Special attention is given to variations in the size of the bipole magnetic axis during the solar cycle. It is shown that the distribution of the length of the bipole magnetic axis is close to lognormal with the exception of secondary local peaks. Secondary peaks are also present in the distribution of the tilt angles of bipoles at different latitudes. The influence of matter flows in supergranules on the length of the magnetic axis and the tilt angles of sunspot bipoles is discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 6.
Fig. 7.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  1. Babcock, H.W., The topology of the Sun’s magnetic field and the 22-year cycle, Astrophys. J., 1961, vol. 133, pp. 527–587.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Bumba, V., Pr. Wroclaw. Tow. Nauk., Ser. B, 1963, vol. 112, pp. 31–34.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Bumba, V., Ranzinger, P., and Suda, J., Photospheric convective network as a determining factor in sunspot and group development and stabilization, Bull. Astron. Inst. Czech., 1973, vol. 24, pp. 22–38.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Dmitrieva, M.G., Kopecký, M., and Kuklin, G.V., The supergranular pattern and the stable stages of sunspot groups, in Structure and Development of Solar Active Regions, International Astronomical Union Symposium No. 35, Dordrecht: Springer, 1968, pp. 174–177.

  5. Fisher, G.H., Fan, Y., and Howard, R.F., Comparisons between theory and observation of active region tilts, Astrophys. J., 1995, vol. 438, pp. 463–471.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Gizon, L., Duvall, T.L., Jr, and Schou, J., Wave-like properties of solar supergranulation, Nature, 2003, vol. 421, pp. 43–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Hale, G.E. and Nicholson, S.B., Magnetic Observations of Sunspots 1917–1924, Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1925.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Hale, G.E., Ellerman, F., Nicholson, S.B., and Joy, A.H., The magnetic polarity of sun-spots, Astrophys. J., 1919, vol. 49, pp. 153–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Harvey, K.L., Magnetic bipoles on the Sun, Ph.D. Thesis, Utrecht: Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht, 1993.

  10. Howard, R.F., The magnetic fields of active regions. VI. Magnetic axis tilt changes, Sol. Phys., 1991, vol. 132, pp. 257–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Leighton, R.B., A magneto–kinematic model of the solar cycle, Astrophys. J., 1969, vol. 156, pp. 1–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Muñoz-Jaramillo, A., Senkpeil, R.R., Windmueller, J.C., Amouzou, E.C., Longcope, D.W., Tlatov, A.G., Nagovitsyn, Y.A., Pevtsov, A.A., Chapman, G.A., Cookson, A.M., Yeates, A.R., Watson, F.T., Balmaceda, L.A., DeLuca, E.E., and Martens, P.C.H., Small-scale and global dynamos and the area and flux distributions of active regions, sunspot groups, and sunspots: A multi-database study, Astrophys. J., 2015a, vol. 800, id 48.

  13. Muñoz-Jaramillo, A., Senkpeil, R.R., Longcope, D.W., Tlatov, A.G., Pevtsov, A.A., Balmaceda, L.A., DeLuca, E.E., and Martens, P.C.H., The minimum of solar cycle 23: As deep as it could be?, Astrophys. J., 2015b, vol. 804, no. 1, id 68.

  14. Nagovitsyn, Y.A., Pevtsov, A.A., and Livingston, W.C., On a possible explanation of the long-term decrease in sunspot field strength, Astrophys. J., 2012, vol. 758, pp. L20–L25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Rieutord, M. and Rincon, F., The Sun’s supergranulation, Living Rev. Sol. Phys., 2010, vol. 7, no. 1, id 82.

  16. Sivaraman, K.R., Gupta, S.S., and Howard, R.F., Measurement of Kodaikanal white-light images. I. A comparison of 35 years of Kodaikanal and Mount Wilson sunspot data, Sol. Phys., 1993, vol. 146, pp. 27–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Surkov E.P., in Fizika solnechnoi aktivnosti (Physics of Solar Activity), Vladivostok, 1973, pp. 47–56.

  18. Tlatov, A.G., Vasil’eva, V.V., and Pevtsov, A.A., Distribution of magnetic bipoles on the Sun over three solar cycles, Astrophys. J., 2010, vol. 717, pp. 357–362.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Tlatov, A., Illarionov, E., Sokoloff, D., and Pipin, V., A new dynamo pattern revealed by the tilt angle of bipolar sunspot groups, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc., 2013, vol. 432, pp. 2975–2984.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Tlatova, K.A., Vasil’eva, V.V., and Pevtsov, A.A., Long-term variations in the sunspot magnetic fields and bipole properties from 1918 to 2014, Geomagn. Aeron. (Engl. Transl.), 2015, vol. 55, no. 7, pp. 896–901.

  21. Vitinsky, Yu.I., Kopecký, M., and Kuklin, G.V., Statistika pyatnoobrazovatel’noi deyatel’nosti Solntsa (Statistics of Sunspot Formation Activity), Moscow: Nauka, 1986.

  22. Weart, S.R., The birth and growth of sunspot regions, Astrophys. J., 1970, vol. 162, pp. 987–991.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The study is supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project no. 18-02-00098-a, and Russian Scientific Foundation, project no. 15-12-20001.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to K. A. Tlatova.

Additional information

Translated by M. Chubarova

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tlatov, A.G., Tlatova, K.A. Influence of Supergranulation on the Properties of Sunspot Bipoles. Geomagn. Aeron. 58, 959–965 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793218070228

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793218070228

Navigation