The images of sunspots in sixteen active regions taken at the UCCI Observatory in Grand Cayman during June - November 2015, were used to determine their fractal dimensions using the perimeter-area method for the umbral and the penumbral region. Scale free fractal dimensions of 2.09 $\pm$ 0.42 and 1.72 $\pm$ 0.4 were found respectively. This value was higher than the value determined by Chumak and Chumak (1996) who used a similar method but for the penumbral region only for their sample set. There is a positive correlation r = 0.58 between umbral and the penumbral fractal dimensions for the specific sunspots. Furthermore, a time series analysis was done similarly on eight images of AR 12403, from 21st August 2015 - 28th August 2015 taken from the Debrecen Photoheliographic Data (DPD). The correlation, r = 0.623 between the umbral and penumbral fractal dimensions in the time series indicating that the complexity in morphology indicated by the fractal dimension between the umbra and penumbra followed each other in time as well.
Jurcak et al (2018) have reported that, in a sample of more than 100 umbral cores in sunspots, the umbral-penumbral boundary (UPB) is characterized by a remarkably narrowly-defined numerical value (1867 G) of the vertical component of the magnetic field. Gough and Tayler (1966), in their study of magneto-convection, showed that the onset of convection in the presence of a magnetic field is controlled by a parameter δ which also depends on the vertical component of the field. Combining the Jurcak et al result with various empirical models of sunspots leads us to propose the following hypothesis…
We present results from the investigation of 5-min umbral oscillations in a single-polarity sunspot of active region NOAA 12132. The spectra of TiO, H$α$, and 304 Å are used for corresponding atmospheric heights from the photosphere to lower corona. Power spectrum analysis at the formation height of H$α$ - 0.6 Å to H$α$ center resulted in the detection of 5-min oscillation signals in intensity interpreted as running waves outside the umbral center, mostly with vertical magnetic field inclination $>15°$. A phase-speed filter is used to extract the running wave signals with speed $v_{ph}> 4$ km …
We study the velocity structure of penumbral filaments in the deep photosphere to obtain direct evidence for the convective nature of sunspot penumbrae. A sunspot was observed at high spatial resolution with the 1-m Swedish Solar Telescope in the deep photospheric C I 5380 Å absorption line. The Multi-Object Multi-Frame Blind Deconvolution (MOMFBD) method is used for image restoration and straylight is filtered out. We report here the discovery of clear redshifts in the C I 5380 Å line at multiple locations in sunspot penumbral filaments. For example, bright head of filaments show larger conce…
We report the simultaneous presence of chromospheric umbral flashes and associated umbral waves, and propagating coronal disturbances, in a sunspot and related active region. We have analyzed time-distance maps obtained using the observations from Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on-board Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). These maps show the simultaneous occurrence of different sunspot oscillation and waves such as umbral flashes, umbral waves, and coronal waves. Analysis of the original light curves, i.e., without implementing any Fourier filtering on them, show that the amplitudes of diffe…
Combining high-resolution spectropolarimetric and imaging data is key to understanding the decay process of sunspots as it allows us scrutinizing the velocity and magnetic fields of sunspots and their surroundings. Active region NOAA 12597 was observed on 24/09/2016 with the 1.5-m GREGOR solar telescope using high-spatial resolution imaging as well as imaging spectroscopy and near-infrared (NIR) spectropolarimetry. Horizontal proper motions were estimated with LCT, whereas LOS velocities were computed with spectral line fitting methods. The magnetic field properties were inferred with the SIR …
Sunspots are concentrations of magnetic field on the visible solar surface that strongly affect the convective energy transport in their interior and surroundings. The filamentary outer regions (penumbrae) of sunspots show systematic radial outward flows along channels of nearly horizontal magnetic field. These flows were discovered 100 years ago and are present in all fully developed sunspots. Using a comprehensive numerical simulation of a sunspot pair, we show that penumbral structures with such outflows form when the average magnetic field inclination to the vertical exceeds about 45 degre…
Umbral dots (UDs) are transient, bright features observed in the umbral region of a sunspot. We study the physical properties of UDs observed in sunspots of different sizes. The aim of our study is to relate the physical properties of umbral dots with the large-scale properties of sunspots. For this purpose, we analyze high-resolution G-band images of 42 sunspots observed by {\em Hinode}/SOT, located close to disk center. The images were corrected for instrumental stray-light and restored with the modeled PSF. An automated multi-level tracking algorithm was employed to identify the UDs located…
We present the results of high resolution co-temporal and co-spatial photospheric and chromospheric observations of sunspot penumbral intrusions. The data was taken with the Swedish Solar Telescope (SST) on the Canary Islands. Time series of Ca\,II H images show a series of transient jets extending roughly 3000 km above a penumbral intrusion into the umbra. For most of the time series jets were seen along the whole length of the intruding bright filament. Some of these jets develop a clear $λ$-shaped structure, with a small loop appearing at their footpoint and lasting for around a minute. In …
Penumbral filaments and light bridges are prominent structures inside sunspots and are important for understanding the nature of sunspot magnetic fields and magneto-convection underneath. We investigate an interesting event where several penumbral filaments intruded into a sunspot light bridge for more insights into magnetic fields of the sunspot penumbral filament and light bridge, as well as their interaction. The emission, kinematic, and magnetic topology characteristics of the penumbral filaments intruding into the light bridge and the resultant jets are studied. At the west part of the li…
Sunspots have played a key role in aiding our understanding of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave phenomenon in the Sun's atmosphere, and it is well known they demonstrate a number of wave phenomenon associated with slow MHD modes. Recent studies have shown that transverse wave modes are present throughout the majority of the chromosphere. Using high-resolution Ca II 8542 Å observations from the Swedish Solar Telescope, we provide the first demonstration that the chromospheric super-penumbral fibrils, which span out from the sunspot, also show ubiquitous transverse motions. We interpret these moti…
Data analysis of sunspot oscillation based on 6-hr SDO run of observation showed that low frequency (0.2 < ! < 1 mHz) oscillations are local similar to three and five minute oscillations. The oscillations in the sunspot are concentrated in cells of a few arcsec, each of which has its own oscillation spectrum. The analysis of two scenario for sunspot oscillations leads to conclusion that local sunspot oscillations occur due to subphotospheric resonator for slow mhd waves. Empirical models of sunspot atmosphere and the theory of slow waves in thin magnetic flux tubes is applied to the modeling o…
The emergence and decay of the sunspot groups are important components of the solar dynamo models. There are two different types of studies on the evolution of active regions. One of them is based on fewer data with higher spatial resolution, the other one uses more data with lower spatial resolution. The input data of the present study allow the investigation with high-resolution both spatially and temporally. The temporal resolution of the SoHO Debrecen Sunspot Database (SDD) is one and a half hours, and it also makes possible to identify all individual sunspots with the position, area, and …
The subsurface structure of a solar sunspot is important in the stability of the sunspots and the energy transport therein. Two subsurface structure models have been proposed, the monolithic and cluster models, but no clear observational evidence supporting a particular model has been found so far. To obtain clues about the subsurface structure of sunspots, we analyzed umbral flashes in merging sunspots registered by IRIS Mg II 2796 Angstrom slit-jaw images (SJIs). Umbral flashes are regarded as an observational manifestation of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) shock waves originating from convection…
Realistic 3D radiative MHD simulations reveal the magneto-convective processes underlying the formation of the photospheric fine structure of sunspots, including penumbral filaments and umbral dots. Here we provide results from a statistical analysis of simulated umbral dots and compare them with reports from high-resolution observations. A multi-level segmentation and tracking algorithm has been used to isolate the bright structures in synthetic bolometric and continuum brightness images. Areas, brightness, and lifetimes of the resulting set of umbral dots are found to be correlated: larger u…
Penumbral microjets are short-lived, fine-structured and bright jets that are generally observed in chromospheric imaging of the penumbra of sunspots. Here we investigate their potential transition region signature, by combining observations with the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope (SST) in the Ca II H and Ca II 8542Å lines with ultraviolet imaging and spectroscopy obtained with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), which includes the C II 1334/1335Å, Si IV 1394/1403Å and Mg II h & k 2803/2796Å lines. We find a clear corresponding signal in the IRIS Mg II k, C II and Si IV slit-jaw ima…
Penumbral microjets (PJs) are transient narrow bright features in the chromosphere of sunspot penumbrae, first characterized by Katsukawa et al (2007) using the \CaII\ H-line filter on {\it Hinode}'s Solar Optical Telescope (SOT). It was proposed that the PJs form as a result of reconnection between two magnetic components of penumbra (spines and interspines), and that they could contribute to the transition region (TR) and coronal heating above sunspot penumbrae. We propose a modified picture of formation of PJs based on recent results on internal structure of sunspot penumbral filaments. Usi…
The magnetograms of sixteen Active Regions, observed during June - November 2015, were obtained from the Joint Science Operations Center and used to determine the fractal dimensions of various magnetic field groups. The fields were divided into strong (positive and negative) and weak (positive and negative) groupings. The area-perimeter method was used to determine the fractal dimensions for the umbral and penumbral regions of the magnetograms. The fractal dimensions were found to be 1.79 \pm 0.49 and 1.96 \pm 0.29 for strong and weak magnetic fields respectively. When compared to the umbral a…
It was empirically determined that the umbra-penumbra boundaries of stable sunspots are characterized by a constant value of the vertical magnetic field. We analyzed the evolution of the photospheric magnetic field properties of a decaying sunspot belonging to NOAA 11277 between August 28 - September 3, 2011. The observations were acquired with the spectropolarimeter on-board of the Hinode satellite. We aim to proof the validity of the constant vertical magnetic-field boundary between the umbra and penumbra in decaying sunspots. A spectral-line inversion technique was used to infer the magneti…
We analyze in detail the penumbral structure found in a recent radiative MHD simulation. Near tau=1, the simulation produces penumbral fine structure consistent with the observationally inferred interlocking comb structure. Fast outflows exceeding 8 km/s are present along almost horizontal stretches of the magnetic field; in the outer half of the penumbra, we see opposite polarity flux indicating flux returning beneath the surface. The bulk of the penumbral brightness is maintained by small-scale motions turning over on scales shorter than the length of a typical penumbral filament. The result…
A new Stokes inversion technique that greatly reduces the effect of the spatial point spread function of the telescope is used to constrain the physical properties of umbral dots (UDs). The depth-dependent inversion of the Stokes parameters from a sunspot umbra recorded with Hinode SOT/SP revealed significant temperature enhancements and magnetic field weakenings in the core of the UDs in deep photospheric layers. Additionally, we found upflows of around 960 m/s in peripheral UDs (i.e., UDs close to the penumbra) and $\approx$ 600 m/s in central UDs. For the first time, we also detected system…
The sunspot penumbra comprises numerous thin, radially elongated filaments that are central for heat transport within the penumbra, but whose structure is still not clear. To investigate the fine-scale structure of these filaments, we perform a depth-dependent inversion of spectropolarimetric data of a sunspot very close to solar disk center obtained by Hinode (SOT/SP). We have used a recently developed spatially coupled 2D inversion scheme which allows us to analyze the fine structure of individual penumbral filaments up to the diffraction limit of the telescope. Filaments of different sizes …
We analyzed the size, intensity, and magnetic field strength of sunspot umbrae to compare the present cycle 24 with the previous one. We used data of the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory and selected all sunspots between May 2010 and October 2012, using one image per day. We created two subsets of this data with a manual tracking algorithm, both without duplication. One is containing each sunspot (910 umbrae within 488 spots) and was used to analyze the distribution of umbral areas, selected with an automated thresholding method. The other one contains 20…
Umbral flashes (UF) and running penumbral waves (RPWs) in sunspot chromospheres leave a dramatic imprint in the intensity profile of the Ca II 854.2 nm line. Recent studies have focussed on also explaining the observed polarization profiles, that show even more dramatic variations during the passage of these shock fronts. While most of these variations can be explained with an almost constant magnetic field as a function of time, several studies have reported changes in the inferred magnetic field strength during UF phases. In this study we investigate the origin of these periodic variations o…
We present the first high-resolution Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of a sunspot at wavelengths of 1.3 mm and 3 mm, obtained during the solar ALMA Science Verification campaign in 2015, and compare them with the predictions of semi-empirical sunspot umbral/penumbral atmosphere models. For the first time millimeter observations of sunspots have resolved umbral/penumbral brightness structure at the chromospheric heights, where the emission at these wavelengths is formed. We find that the sunspot umbra exhibits a radically different appearance at 1.3 mm and 3 mm,…
Context. In a recent statistical study of sunspots in 79 active regions, the vertical magnetic field component $B_\text{ver}$ averaged along the umbral boundary is found to be independent of sunspot size. The authors of that study conclude that the absolute value of $B_\text{ver}$ at the umbral boundary is the same for all spots. Aims. We investigate the temporal evolution of $B_\text{ver}$ averaged along the umbral boundary of one long-lived sunspot during its stable phase. Methods. We analysed data from the HMI instrument on-board SDO. Contours of continuum intensity at $I_\text{c}=0.5I_\tex…
Sunspot atmospheres are highly inhomogeneous hosting both quasi-stable and transient features, such as `umbral micro-jets' and dark fibril-like events. We seek to understand the morphological properties and formation mechanisms of small-scale umbral brightenings (SSUBs; analogous to umbral micro-jets) and to understand whether links between these events and short dynamic fibrils, umbral flashes, and umbral dots can be established. An SST filtergram time-series sampling the Ca II H line and a CRISP full-Stokes 15-point Ca II 8542 A line scan dataset were used. The average lifetime and lengths o…
The highly dynamic atmosphere above sunspots exhibits a wealth of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves. Recent studies suggest a coupled nature of the most prominent phenomena: umbral flashes (UFs) and running penumbral waves (RPWs). From an observational point of view, we perform a height-dependent study of RPWs, compare their wave characteristics and aim to track down these so far only chromospherically observed phenomena to photospheric layers to prove the upward propagating field-guided nature of RPWs. We analyze a time series (58\,min) of multi-wavelength observations of an isolated circular s…
We model the deepest observable layers of dark sunspot umbral atmospheres in terms of an empirical model which equally describes observed near infrared continuum intensities and line profiles. We use the umbral continuum intensity at 1.67 nm and the three C I lines at 1,6888, 1,7449 and 1,7456 nm to model the deep layers near the minimum of H- absorption. We find that a radiative equilibrium stratification yields the best compromise between continuum and C I line observations. We determine the effective temperature from the umbral and photospheric flux ratio by down-scaling the monochromatic p…
Umbral flashes are sudden brightenings commonly visible in the core of chromospheric lines. Theoretical and numerical modeling suggest that they are produced by the propagation of shock waves. According to these models and early observations, umbral flashes are associated with upflows. However, recent studies have reported umbral flashes in downflowing atmospheres. We aim to understand the origin of downflowing umbral flashes. We explore how the existence of standing waves in the umbral chromosphere impacts the generation of flashed profiles. We performed numerical simulations of wave propagat…
Spectropolarimetric observations of a sunspot were carried out with the Tenerife Infrared Polarimeter at Observatorio del Teide, Tenerife, Spain. Maps of the physical parameters were obtained from an inversion of the Stokes profiles observed in the infrared Fe i line at 15648 angstrom. The regular sunspot consisted of a light bridge which separated the two umbral cores of the same polarity. One of the arms of the light bridge formed an extension of a penumbral filament which comprised weak and highly inclined magnetic fields. In addition, the Stokes V profiles in this filament had an opposite …
The recent solar minimum and rise phase of solar cycle 24 have been unlike any period since the early 1900s. This article examines some of the properties of sunspot umbrae over the last 17 years with three different instruments on the ground and in space: MDI, HMI and BABO. The distribution of magnetic fields and their evolution over time is shown and reveals that the field distribution in cycle 24 is fundamentally different from that in cycle 23. The annual average umbral magnetic field is then examined for the 17 year observation period and shows a small decrease of 375 Gauss in sunspot magn…
We present simultaneous photospheric and chromospheric observations of the trailing sunspot in NOAA 10904, obtained with the Swedish Solar Telescope (SST) La Palma, Canary Islands. Time series of high resolution \ion{Ca}{ii}\,$H$ images show transient jet-like structures in sunspot umbrae are elongated, which we call umbral microjets. These jets are directed roughly parallel to nearby penumbral microjets, suggesting that they are aligned with the background magnetic field. In general, first a bright dot-like structure appears, from which a jet later emerges, although some jets appear without a…
Ellerman bombs are regions with enhanced Balmer line wing emission and mark magnetic reconnection in the deep solar atmosphere in active regions and quiet Sun. They are often found in regions where opposite magnetic polarities are in close proximity. Recent high resolution observations suggest that Ellerman bombs are more prevalent than thought before. We aim to determine the occurrence of Ellerman bombs in the penumbra of sunspots. We analyze high spatial resolution observations of sunspots in the Balmer H-alpha and H-beta lines as well as auxiliary continuum channels obtained with the Swedis…
We observed a C-class flare at the outer boundary of the super-penumbra of a sunspot. The flare was triggered by an emerging magnetic bipolar region that was obliquely oriented with respect to the super-penumbral fibrils. The flare started due to the low height magnetic reconnection of emerging magnetic flux with super-penumbral field resulting hot multi-temperature plasma flows in the inverse Evershed flow channel and its overlying atmosphere. The inverse Evershed flows in the chromosphere start from super penumbra towards sunspot that end at the outer boundary of the penumbra. The hot plasma…
We have employed a penumbral model, that includes the Evershed flow and convective motions inside penumbral filaments, to reproduce the azimuthal variation of the net circular polarization (NCP) in sunspot penumbrae at different heliocentric angles for two different spectral lines. The theoretical net circular polarization fits the observations as satisfactorily as penumbral models based on flux-tubes. The reason for this is that the effect of convective motions on the NCP is very small compared to the effect of the Evershed flow. In addition, the NCP generated by convective upflows cancels ou…
Umbral flashes (UFs) are emissions in the core of chromospheric lines caused by upward propagating waves steepening into shocks. UFs are followed by an expanding blue shifted umbral wave (UW) and red-shifted plasma returning to the initial state. Here we use 5 s cadence images acquired at $\pm$0.04~nm off the Halpha line center by the Visible Imaging Spectrometer (VIS) installed on the Goode Solar Telescope (GST) to detect the origin of UFs and UWs in a sunspot with a uniform umbra free of LBs and clusters of umbral dots. The data showed that UFs do not randomly originate over the umbra. Inste…
Penumbrae are known to be area of mainly horizontal magnetic field surrounding umbrae of relatively large and mature sunspots. In this paper, we observationally studied the formation of penumbrae in NOAA10978, where several penumbral formations were observed in G-band images of SOT/Hinode. Thanks to the continuous observation by Hinode, we could morphologically follow the evolution of sunspots and found that there are several paths to the penumbral formation: (1) Active accumulation of magnetic flux, (2) Rapid emergence of magnetic field, and (3) Appearance of twisted or rotating magnetic tube…
We present observations of a precursory signature that would be helpful for understanding the formation process of sunspot penumbrae. The Hinode Solar Optical Telescope successfully captured the entire evolution of a sunspot from the pore to a large well-developed sunspot with penumbra in an emerging flux region appeared in NOAA Active Region 11039. We found an annular zone (width 3"-5") surrounding the umbra (pore) in Ca II H images before the penumbra is formed around the umbra. The penumbra was developed as if to fill the annular zone. The annular zone shows weak magnetogram signals, meanin…
We study the velocity field of umbral dots at a resolution of 0.14". Our analysis is based on full Stokes spectropolarimetric measurements of a pore taken with the CRISP instrument at the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope. We determine the flow velocity at different heights in the photosphere from a bisector analysis of the Fe I 630 nm lines. In addtion, we use the observed Stokes Q, U, and V profiles to characterize the magnetic properties of these structures. We find that most umbral dots are associated with strong upflows in deep photospheric layers. Some of them also show concentrated patches of…
High spatial and temporal resolution images of a sunspot, obtained simultaneously in multiple optical and UV wavelengths, are employed to study the propagation and damping characteristics of slow magnetoacoustic waves up to transition region heights. Power spectra are generated from intensity oscillations in sunspot umbra, across multiple atmospheric heights, for frequencies up to a few hundred mHz. It is observed that the power spectra display a power-law dependence over the entire frequency range, with a significant enhancement around 5.5 mHz found for the chromospheric channels. The phase-d…
We analyse sunspot oscillations using Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) slit-jaw and spectral data and narrow-band chromospheric images from the New Solar Telescope (NST) for the main sunspot in NOAA AR 11836. We report that the difference between the shock arrival times as measured the Mg II k 2796.35Å and Si IV 1393.76Å line formation levels changes during the observed period and peak-to-peak delays may range from 40~s to zero. The intensity of chromospheric shocks also displays a long term (about 20~min) variations. NST's high spatial resolution \ha\ data allowed us to conclude t…
A precise knowledge of the surface structure of sunspots is essential to construct adequate input models for helioseismic inversion tools. We summarize our recent findings about the velocity and magnetic field in and around sunspots using HINODE observation. To this end we quantize the horizontal and vertical component of the penumbral velocity field at different levels of precision and study the moat flow around sunspot. Furthermore, we find that a significant amount of the penumbral magnetic fields return below the surface within the penumbra. Finally, we explain why the related opposite pol…
The motion of dark striations across bright filaments in a sunspot penumbra has become an important new diagnostic of convective gas flows in penumbral filaments. The nature of these striations has, however, remained unclear. Here we present an analysis of small scale motions in penumbral filaments in both simulations and observations. The simulations, when viewed from above, show fine structure with dark lanes running outwards from the dark core of the penumbral filaments. The dark lanes either occur preferentially on one side or alternate between both sides of the filament. We identify this …
The X-3.4 class flare of 13 December 2006 was observed with a high cadence of 2 minutes at 0.2 arc-sec resolution by HINODE/SOT FG instrument. The flare ribbons could be seen in G-band images also. A careful analysis of these observations after proper registration of images show flare related changes in penumbral filaments of the associated sunspot, for the first time. The observations of sunspot deformation, decay of penumbral area and changes in magnetic flux during large flares have been reported earlier in the literature. In this Letter, we report lateral motion of the penumbral filaments …
We study the temporal evolution of downflows observed at the lateral edges of penumbral filaments in a sunspot located very close to the disk center. Our analysis is based on a sequence of nearly diffraction-limited scans of the Fe I 617.3 nm line taken with the CRisp Imaging Spectro-Polarimeter at the Swedish 1 m Solar Telescope. We compute Dopplergrams from the observed intensity profiles using line bisectors and filter the resulting velocity maps for subsonic oscillations. Lateral downflows appear everywhere in the center-side penumbra as small, weak patches of redshifts next to or along th…
The analyses of sunspot observations revealed a fundamental magnetic property of the umbral boundary, the invariance of the vertical component of the magnetic field. We aim to analyse the magnetic properties of the umbra-penumbra boundary in simulated sunspots and thus assess their similarity to observed sunspots. Also, we aim to investigate the role of plasma $β$ and the ratio of kinetic to magnetic energy in simulated sunspots on the convective motions. We use a set of non-grey simulation runs of sunspots with the MURaM code. These data are used to synthesise the Stokes profiles that are the…
Recent high-resolution observations reveal that subarcsecond bright dots (BDs) with sub-minute lifetimes appears ubiquitously in the transition region (TR) above sunspot penumbra. The presence of penumbral micro-jets (PMJs) in the chromosphere have also been reported earlier. It was proposed that both the PMJs and BDs are formed due to magnetic reconnection process and may play an important role in heating of the penumbra. Using simultaneous observation of the chromosphere from the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) aboard Hinode and the TR from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), we …
We analyze spectropolarimetric sunspot umbra observations taken in the near-infrared Si i 1082.7 nm line taking NLTE effects into account. The data were obtained with the GRIS instrument installed at the German GREGOR telescope. A point spread function (PSF) was constructed using prior Mercury observations with GRIS and the information provided by the adaptive optics system of the GREGOR telescope. The data were then deconvolved from the PSF using a principal component analysis deconvolution method and were analyzed via the NICOLE inversion code. The Si i 1082.7 nm line seems to be in emission…
In this paper, we report our first-step results of high resolution He\,\textsc{i} 10830 Å narrow-band imaging (bandpass: 0.5 Å) of an M1.8 class two-ribbon flare on July 5, 2012. The flare was observed with the 1.6 meter aperture New Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory. For this unique data set, sunspot dynamics during flaring were analyzed for the first time. By directly imaging the upper chromosphere, running penumbral waves are clearly seen as an outward extension of umbral flashes, both take the form of absorption in the 10830 Å narrow-band images. From a space-time image made of…
Solar Optical Telescope onboard Hinode observed a sunspot (AR 11836) with two light bridges (LBs) on 31 Aug 2013. We analysed a 2-hour \ion{Ca}{2} H emission intensity data set and detected strong 5-min oscillation power on both LBs and in the inner penumbra. The time-distance plot reveals that 5-min oscillation phase does not vary significantly along the thin bridge, indicating that the oscillations are likely to originate from the underneath. The slit taken along the central axis of the wide light bridge exhibits a standing wave feature. However, at the centre of the wide bridge, the 5-min o…
We investigate bipolar sunspot regions and how tilt angle and footpoint separation vary during emergence and decay. The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory collects data at a higher cadence than historical records and allows for a detailed analysis of regions over their lifetimes. We sample the umbral tilt angle, footpoint separation, and umbral area of 235 bipolar sunspot regions in Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager - Debrecen Data (HMIDD) with an hourly cadence. We use the time when the umbral area peaks as time zero to distinguish between the emergence and…
We have investigated the problem of sunspot magnetohydrostatic equilibrium with comprehensive IR sunspot magnetic field survey observations of the highly sensitive Fe I lines at 15650 Å and nearby OH lines. We have found that some sunspots show isothermal increases in umbral magnetic field strength which cannot be explained by the simplified sunspot model with a single-component ideal gas atmosphere assumed in previous investigations. Large sunspots universally display non-linear increases in magnetic pressure over temperature, while small sunspots and pores display linear behavior. The format…
To deepen the analysis of the photometric properties of the umbra of a sunspot, we study proper motions of small features such as umbral dots (UDs) inside a single sunspot observed by the Solar Optical Telescope of Hinode close to the disk center. We consider horizontal flows with high precision and details to study the transient motion behavior of UDs in short time intervals. Blue continuum images were first deconvolved with the point-spread function, such that the stray light is precisely removed and the original resolution is improved. Several images were co-added to improve the signal-to-n…
Measurements of maximum magnetic flux, minimum intensity, and size are presented for 12 967 sunspot umbrae detected on the NASA/NSO spectromagnetograms between 1993 and 2004 to study umbral structure and strength during the solar cycle. The umbrae are selected using an automated thresholding technique. Measured umbral intensities are first corrected for a confirming observation of umbral limb-darkening. Log-normal fits to the observed size distribution confirm that the size spectrum shape does not vary with time. The intensity-magnetic flux relationship is found to be steady over the solar cyc…
We report observations of bright dots (BDs) in a sunspot penumbra using High Resolution Coronal Imager (Hi-C) data in 193 Å and examine their sizes, lifetimes, speeds, and intensities. The sizes of the BDs are on the order of 1\arcsec\ and are therefore hard to identify in the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) 193 Å images, which have 1.2\arcsec\ spatial resolution, but become readily apparent with Hi-C's five times better spatial resolution. We supplement Hi-C data with data from AIA's 193 Å passband to see the complete lifetime of the BDs that appeared before and/or lasted longer than Hi-C'…
High-resolution observations of horizontal motions in the penumbra are needed to complement the concept of penumbrae obtained from spectropolarimetry. Time series of intensity images of a large sunspot in AR 10634 acquired with the Swedish Solar Telescope in the G band and red continuum are analysed. The two simultaneous time series last six hours and five minutes. Horizontal motions of penumbral grains (PGs), structures in dark bodies of filaments, the outer penumbral border, and G-band bright points are measured in time slices that cover the whole width of the penumbra and the neighbouring g…
