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The Lifetime of Sunspot

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Abstract

The lifetime of individual solar pores and sunspots is analyzed according to the data of the HMI/SDO space observatory observations in the 24th and 25th activity cycles. It is found that the lifetime of individual sunspots and pores T differs from the Gnevyshev–Waldmeier rule formulated for groups of sunspots. For regular sunspots, that is, spots with nuclei, there is a linear dependence on the maximum area Smx: Tsp = –0.019(±0.2) + 0.027(±0.002)Smx. For solar pores, the dependence of the lifetime on the area has a logarithmic form Tpor = –0.24(±0.1) + 0.055(±0.014) log(Smx). Possible mechanisms of disintegration of spots and pores are studied. The lifetime for regular spots is probably related to convective currents. It has been established that the average velocity of the matter flow, determined from observations of Doppler velocities, increases with a decrease in the area of sunspots. This can accelerate the decay rate of sunspots with a decrease in the area of sunspots. For solar pores, the lifetime can be determined by the heating mechanism.

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Funding

This work was supported in part by the Russian Science Foundation project no. 23-22-00165.

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  1. GAO Mountain Astronomical Station, Russian Academy of Sciences, Kislovodsk, Russia

    A. G. Tlatov

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  1. A. G. Tlatov
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Correspondence to A. G. Tlatov.

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Tlatov, A.G. The Lifetime of Sunspot. Geomagn. Aeron. 63, 1116–1119 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793223080236

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