ISSN:
1573-093X
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Physics
Notes:
Abstract This paper studies how the properties of large-scale convection affect the decay of plages. The plage decay, caused by the random-walk dispersion of flux tubes, is suggested to be severely affected by differences between the mean size of cellular openings within and around plages. The smaller cell size within a plage largely explains the smaller diffusion coefficient within plages as compared to that of the surrounding regions. Moreover, the exchange of flux tubes between the inner regions of the plage and the surrounding network is suggested to be modified by this difference in cell size, and the concept of a partially transmitting plage periphery is introduced: this periphery preferentially turns back flux parcels that are moving out of the plage and preferentially lets through flux parcels that are moving into the plage, thus confining the flux tubes to within the plage. This semi-permeability of the plage periphery, together with the dependence of the diffusion coefficient on the flux-tube density, can explain the observed slow decay of plages (predicting a typical life time of about a month for a medium-sized plage), the existence of a well-defined plage periphery, and the observed characteristic mean magnetic flux density of about 100 G. One effect of the slowed decay of the plage by the semi-permeability of the plage periphery is the increase of the fraction of the magnetic flux that can cancel with flux of the opposite polarity along the neutral line to as much as 80%, as compared to at most 50% in the case of non-uniform diffusion. This may explain why only a small fraction of the magnetic flux is observed to escape from the plage into the surrounding network.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00912991
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