A time-distance helioseismic technique, similar to the one used by Ilonidis et al (2011), is applied to two independent numerical models of subsurface sound-speed perturbations to determine the spatial resolution and accuracy of phase travel time shift measurements. The technique is also used to examine pre-emergence signatures of several active regions observed by the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) and the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI). In the context of similar measurements of quiet sun regions, three of the five studied active regions show strong phase travel time shifts several hours prior to emergence. These results form the basis of a discussion of noise in the derived phase travel time maps and possible criteria to distinguish between true and false positive detection of emerging flux.
The goal of local helioseismology is to elicit three-dimensional information about the sub-surface (or far-side) structure and dynamics of the Sun from observations of the helioseismic wave field at the surface. The physical quantities of interest include flows, sound-speed deviations and magnetic fields. However, strong surface magnetic fields induce large perturbations to the waves making inversions difficult to interpret. The purpose of this paper is to outline the methods of analysis used in local helioseismology, review discoveries associated with the magnetic Sun made using local heliose…
We report on average subsurface properties of pre-emerging active regions as compared to areas where no active region emergence was detected. Helioseismic holography is applied to samples of the two populations (pre-emergence and without emergence), each sample having over 100 members, which were selected to minimize systematic bias, as described in Leka et al. We find that there are statistically significant signatures (i.e., difference in the means of more than a few standard errors) in the average subsurface flows and the apparent wave speed that precede the formation of an active region. T…
The subsurface properties of active regions prior to their appearance at the solar surface may shed light on the process of active region formation. Helioseismic holography has been applied to samples taken from two populations of regions on the Sun (pre-emergence and without emergence), each sample having over 100 members, that were selected to minimize systematic bias, as described in Paper I (Leka et al., 2012). Paper II (Birch et al., 2012) showed that there are statistically significant signatures in the average helioseismic properties that precede the formation of an active region. This …
Observations from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) have the potential for allowing the helioseismic study of the formation of hundreds of active regions, which would enable us to perform statistical analyses. Our goal is to collate a uniform data set of emerging active regions observed by the SDO/HMI instrument suitable for helioseismic analysis up to seven days before emergence. We restricted the sample to active regions that were visible in the continuum and emerged into quiet Sun largely avoiding pre-existing magnetic regions. As a reference data set we paired a control region (CR), wit…
Time-distance helioseismology and related techniques show great promise for probing the structure and dynamics of the subphotospheric layers of the Sun. Indeed time-distance helioseismology has already been applied to make inferences about structures and flows under sunspots and active regions, to map long-lived convective flow patterns, and so on. Yet certainly there are still many inadequacies in the current approaches and, as the data get better and the questions we seek to address get more subtle, methods that were previously regarded as adequate are no longer acceptable. Here we give a sh…
This first paper in a series describes the design of a study testing whether pre-appearance signatures of solar magnetic active regions were detectable using various tools of local helioseismology. The ultimate goal is to understand flux-emergence mechanisms by setting observational constraints on pre-appearance subsurface changes, for comparison with results from simulation efforts. This first paper provides details of the data selection and preparation of the samples, each containing over 100 members, of two populations: regions on the Sun that produced a numbered NOAA active region, and a "…
The study of solar oscillations (helioseismology) has been a very successful method of researching the Sun. Helioseismology teaches us about the structure and mean properties of the Sun. Together with mid-resolution data, the local properties were uncovered in quiet-Sun regions. However, magnetic fields affect the oscillations and prevent us from studying the properties of magnetically active regions with helioseismology. We aim to create a new methodology to suppress the negative effects of magnetic fields on solar oscillations and measure plasma properties close to active regions. The method…
Sunspot regions often form complexes of activity that may live for several solar rotations, and represent a major component of the Sun's magnetic activity. It had been suggested that the close appearance of active regions in space and time might be related to common subsurface roots, or "nests" of activity. EUV images show that the active regions are magnetically connected in the corona, but subsurface connections have not been established. We investigate the subsurface structure and dynamics of a large complex of activity, NOAA 10987-10989, observed during the SOHO/MDI Dynamics run in March-A…
Helioseismology is the study of the variations in the internal structure and properties of the dynamics of the Sun from measurements of its surface oscillations. With the 2010 launch of the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) we are undoubtedly approaching a new dawn for local helioseismology, as the extent and quality of raw surface oscillation data has never been better. However, advances in theory and modelling are still required to fully utilise these data, especially in magnetic active regions and sunspots, where the physics is poorly understood.
Local helioseismology provides a unique opportunity to investigate the subsurface structure and dynamics of active regions and their effect on the large-scale flows and global circulation of the Sun. We use measurements of plasma flows in the upper convection zone, provided by the Time-Distance Helioseismology Pipeline developed for analysis of solar oscillation data obtained by Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), to investigate the subsurface dynamics of emerging active region NOAA 11726. The active region emergence was detected in deep layers of the co…
Using helioseismic holography strong evidence is presented that the phase (or equivalent travel-time) of helioseismic signatures in Dopplergrams within sunspots depend upon the line-of-sight angle in the plane containing the magnetic field and vertical directions. This is shown for the velocity signal in the penumbrae of two sunspots at 3, 4 and 5 mHz. Phase-sensitive holography demonstrates that they are significantly affected in a strong, moderately inclined magnetic field. This research indicates that the effects of the surface magnetic field are potentially very significant for local helio…
Context. Local helioseismology has detected spatially extended converging surface flows into solar active regions. These play an important role in flux-transport models of the solar dynamo. Aims. We aim to validate the existence of the inflows by deriving horizontal flow velocities around active regions with local correlation tracking of granulation. Methods. We generate a six-year long-time series of full-disk maps of the horizontal velocity at the solar surface by tracking granules in continuum intensity images provided by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard the Solar Dynamics…
Phase perturbations due to inclined surface magnetic field of active region strength are calculated numerically in quiet Sun and simple sunspot models in order to estimate and compare the direct and indirect (thermal) effects of the fields on helioseismic waves. It is found that the largest direct effects occur in highly inclined field characteristic of penumbrae, and scale roughly linearly with magnetic field strength. The combined effects of sunspot magnetic and thermal anomalies typically yield negative travel-time perturbations in penumbrae. Travel-time shifts in umbrae depend on details o…
Various methods of helioseismology are used to study the subsurface properties of the sunspot in NOAA Active Region 9787. This sunspot was chosen because it is axisymmetric, shows little evolution during 20-28 January 2002, and was observed continuously by the MDI/SOHO instrument. (...) Wave travel times and mode frequencies are affected by the sunspot. In most cases, wave packets that propagate through the sunspot have reduced travel times. At short travel distances, however, the sign of the travel-time shifts appears to depend sensitively on how the data are processed and, in particular, on …
Local helioseismology provides unique information about the subsurface structure and dynamics of sunspots and active regions. However, because of complexity of sunspot regions local helioseismology diagnostics require careful analysis of systematic uncertainties and physical interpretation of the inversion results. We present new results of comparison of the ring-diagram analysis and time-distance helioseismology for active region NOAA 9787, for which a previous comparison showed significant differences in the subsurface sound-speed structure, and discuss systematic uncertainties of the measur…
Context. In local helioseismology, the travel times of acoustic waves propagating in opposite directions along the same meridian inform us about horizontal flows in the north-south direction. The longitudinal averages of the north-south helioseismic travel-time shifts vary with the sunspot cycle. Aims. We aim to study the contribution of inflows into solar active regions to this solar-cycle variation. Methods. To do so, we identify the local flows around active regions in the horizontal flow maps obtained from correlation tracking of granulation in SDO/HMI continuum images. We compute the forw…
Continuous high-cadence and high-spatial resolution Dopplergrams allow us to study sub-surface dynamics that may be further extended to explore precursors of visible solar activity on the surface. Since the p-mode power is absorbed in the regions of high magnetic field, the inferences in these regions are often presumed to have large uncertainties. In this paper, using the Dopplergrams from space-borne Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI), we compare horizontal flows in a shear layer below the surface and the photospheric layer in and around active regions. The photospheric flows are calculated …
Linear time-distance helioseismic inversions are carried out using several filtering schemes to determine vector flow velocities within two $\sim100^2\,{\rm Mm^2}\times 20\,{\rm Mm}$ realistic magnetohydrodynamic sunspot simulations of 25~hr. One simulation domain contains a model of a full sunspot (i.e. one with both an umbra and penumbra), while the other contains a pore (i.e. a spot without a penumbra). The goal is to test current helioseismic methods using these state-of-the-art simulations of magnetic structures. We find that horizontal flow correlations between inversion and simulation f…
Inferring interior properties of the Sun from photospheric measurements of the seismic wavefield constitutes the helioseismic inverse problem. Deviations in seismic measurements (such as wave travel times) from their fiducial values estimated for a given model of the solar interior imply that the model is inaccurate. Contemporary inversions in local helioseismology assume that properties of the solar interior are linearly related to measured travel-time deviations. It is widely known, however, that this assumption is invalid for sunspots and active regions, and likely for supergranular flows a…
Understanding the Travel-time Asymmetry of Acoustic Waves in Sunspots With Time-distance Helioseismology
Peking University（北京大学）；National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院国家空间科学中心）；Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias（加那利天体物理研究所）；Universidad de La Laguna（拉古纳大学）；Indian Institute of Astrophysics（印度天体物理研究所）；KU Leuven（荷语鲁汶大学）
Mechanisms of the formation and stability of sunspots are among the longest-standing and intriguing puzzles of solar physics and astrophysics. Sunspots are controlled by subsurface dynamics hidden from direct observations. Recently, substantial progress in our understanding of the physics of the turbulent magnetized plasma in strong-field regions has been made by using numerical simulations and local helioseismology. Both the simulations and helioseismic measurements are extremely challenging, but it becomes clear that the key to understanding the enigma of sunspots is a synergy between models…
Improving the Understanding of Subsurface Structure and Dynamics of Solar Active Regions (A white paper submitted to the decadal survey for solar and space Physics (Heliophysics) -- SSPH 2024-2033)
In this dissertation, several components of large-scale solar flows are studied observationally: solar equatorial Rossby waves (waves of radial vorticity), large-scale convection, and surface flows around active regions. Maps of horizontal flows are derived from photospheric observations by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) using two different techniques: granulation tracking and local helioseismology. First, the eigenfunctions of solar Rossby waves are measured from helioseismic ring-diagram flow maps with a correlation method and a spectra…
We use observations of line-of-sight magnetograms from Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board of Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to investigate polarity separation, magnetic flux, flux emergence rate, twist and tilt of solar emerging active regions. Functional dependence of polarity separation and maximum magnetic flux of an active region is in agreement with a simple model of flux emergence as the result of buoyancy forces. Our investigation did not reveal any strong dependence of emergence rate on twist properties of active regions.
Magnetic fields emerging from the Sun's interior carry information about physical processes of magnetic field generation and transport in the convection zone. Soon after appearance on the solar surface the magnetic flux gets concentrated in sunspot regions and causes numerous active phenomena on the Sun. This paper discusses some properties of the emerging magnetic flux observed on the solar surface and in the interior. A statistical analysis of variations of the tilt angle of bipolar magnetic regions during the emergence shows that the systematic tilt with respect to the equator (the Joy's la…
The interaction between emerging active regions and the pre-existing coronal magnetic field is important to understand better the mechanisms of storage and release of magnetic energy from the convection zone to the high corona. We are aiming at describing the first steps of the emergence of an active region within a pre-existing quiet-Sun corona in terms of the thermal and magnetic structure. We use unprecedented spatial, temporal and spectral coverage from the Atmospheric Imager Assembly (AIA) and from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). S…
The purpose of this work is to image solar far-side active regions using acoustic signals with three skips and improve the quality of existing images. The mapping of far-side active regions was first made possible using the helioseismic holography technique by use of four-skip acoustic signals. The quality of far-side images was later improved with the combination of four- and five-skip signals using the time-distance helioseismology technique. In this work, we explore the possibility of making three-skip far-side images of active regions, and improving the image quality by combining the three…
While sunspots are easily observed at the solar surface, determining their subsurface structure is not trivial. There are two main hypotheses for the subsurface structure of sunspots: the monolithic model and the cluster model. Local helioseismology is the only means by which we can investigate subphotospheric structure. However, as current linear inversion techniques do not yet allow helioseismology to probe the internal structure with sufficient confidence to distinguish between the monolith and cluster models, the development of physically realistic sunspot models are a priority for heliose…
The analysis of waves in the visible side of the Sun allows the detection of active regions in the farside through local helioseismology techniques. The knowledge of the magnetism in the whole Sun, including the non-visible hemisphere, is fundamental for several space weather forecasting applications. Seismic identification of farside active regions is challenged by the reduced signal-to-noise, and only large and strong active regions can be reliable detected. Here we develop a new methodology to improve the identification of active region signatures in farside seismic maps. We have constructe…
Active-region Modulation of Subsurface Meridional Flows and Magnetic Flux Transport on the Sun
Indian Institute of Astrophysics（印度天体物理研究所）；Pondicherry University（本地治里大学）；W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Stanford University（斯坦福大学W.W.汉森实验物理实验室）；National Solar Observatory（国家太阳天文台）
A flare and fast coronal mass ejection originated between solar active regions NOAA 11514 and 11515 on July 1, 2012 in response to flux emergence in front of the leading sunspot of the trailing region 11515. Analyzing the evolution of the photospheric magnetic flux and the coronal structure, we find that the flux emergence triggered the eruption by interaction with overlying flux in a non-standard way. The new flux neither had the opposite orientation nor a location near the polarity inversion line, which are favorable for strong reconnection with the arcade flux under which it emerged. Moreov…
We study the distribution of magnetic shear in an emerging flux region using the high-resolution Hinode/SOT SP observations. The distribution of mean magnetic shear angle across the active region shows large values near region of flux emergence i.e., in the middle of existing bipolar region and decreases while approaching the periphery of the active region.
Earlier observational studies have used the time evolution of emerging magnetic flux regions at the photosphere to infer their subsurface structures, assuming that the flux structure does not change significantly over the near-surface layer.In this study, we test the validity of this assumption by comparing the horizontal and vertical motions of an emerging active region. The two motions would be correlated if the emerging structure is rigid. The selected active region (AR) NOAA 11645 is not embedded in detectable preexisting magnetic field. The observed horizontal motion is quantified by the …
A statistical study has been carried out of the relationship between plasma flow Doppler velocities and magnetic field parameters during the emergence of active regions at the solar photospheric level with data acquired by the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). We have investigated 224 emerging active regions with different spatial scales and positions on the solar disc. The following relationships for the first hours of the emergence of active regions have been analysed: i) of peak negative Doppler velocities with the position of the emerging…
Solar active regions are associated with Evershed outflows in sunspot penumbrae, moat outflows surrounding sunspots, and extended inflows surrounding active regions. The latter have been identified on established active regions by various methods. The evolution of these inflows and their dependence on active region properties as well as their impact on the global magnetic field are not yet understood. We aim to understand the evolution of the average inflows around emerging active regions and to derive an empirical model for these inflows. We analyze horizontal flows at the surface of the Sun …
We analyze a solar active region observed by the Hinode CaII H line using the time-distance helioseismology technique, and infer wave-speed perturbation structures and flow fields beneath the active region with a high spatial resolution. The general subsurface wave-speed structure is similar to the previous results obtained from SOHO/MDI observations. The general subsurface flow structure is also similar, and the downward flows beneath the sunspot and the mass circulations around the sunspot are clearly resolved. Below the sunspot, some organized divergent flow cells are observed, and these st…
The emergence of minimally structured (uniform and horizontal) magnetic field from a depth of 20 Mm has been simulated. The field emerges first in a mixed polarity pepper and salt pattern, but then collects into separate, unipolar concentrations and produces pores. The field strength was then artificially increased to produce spot-like structures. The field strength at continuum optical depth unity peaks at 1 kG, with a maximum of 4 kG. Where the vertical field is strong, the spots persist (at present an hour of solar time has been simulated). Where the field is weak, the spot gets filled in a…
Our goal is to constrain models of active region formation by tracking the average motion of active region polarity pairs as they emerge onto the surface. We measured the motion of the two main opposite polarities in 153 emerging active regions (EARs) using line-of-sight magnetic field observations from the Solar Dynamics Observatory Helioseismic Emerging Active Region (SDO/HEAR) survey (Schunker et al. 2016). We first measured the position of each of the polarities eight hours after emergence and tracked their location forwards and backwards in time. We find that, on average, the polarities e…
Context. Far-side helioseismology is a technique used to infer the presence of active regions in the far hemisphere of the Sun based on the interpretation of oscillations measured in the near hemisphere. A neural network has been recently developed to improve the sensitivity of the seismic maps to the presence of far-side active regions. Aims. Our aim is to evaluate the performance of the new neural network approach and to thoroughly compare it with the standard method commonly applied to predict far-side active regions from seismic measurements. Methods. We have computed the predictions of ac…
We investigate the ratio of the vertical and horizontal velocities of the photospheric plasma flows in the region of emerging magnetic fields on the Sun. We carried out a study of photospheric velocities during the first hours of the appearance of 83 active regions with magnetic flux more than 10^21 Mx with data acquired by the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The emerging magnetic fluxes under investigation were isolated from extended concentrations of existing magnetic fields; they have different spatial scales and are located at differen…
This Letter reports scaling laws of free magnetic energy stored in a solar emerging flux region which is a key to understanding the energetics of solar active phenomena such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections. By performing 3-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations that reproduce several emerging flux regions of different magnetic configurations, we derive power law relationships among emerged magnetic flux, free magnetic energy and relative magnetic helicity in these emerging flux regions. Since magnetic flux is an observable quantity, the scaling law between magnetic flux and fre…
With the observations of SDO/AIA 304 Å and NVST Hα bands, we present the formation process of an active-region filament in active region NOAA 11903 during the period from 02:00 UT to 10:00 UT on November 25, 2013. A series of jets occurring in the vicinity of the south-western footpoint of the filament directly ejected cool and hot plasma to filament height and supplied material for the filament. Some newly emerging flux is found in the vicinity of the filament south-western footpoint during these jets. In this paper, we mainly focus on the material supply of the filament. The plasma mass uplo…
With the observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly and the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager aboard the \emph{Solar Dynamics Observatory}, we statistically investigate the emerging dimmings (EDs) of 24 isolated active regions (IARs) from June 2010 to May 2011. All the IARs present EDs in lower temperature lines (e.g., 171 Å) at their early emerging stages, meanwhile in higher temperature lines (e.g., 211 Å), the ED regions brighten continuously. There are two type of EDs: fan-shaped and halo-shaped. There are 19 fan-shaped EDs and 5 halo-shaped ones. The EDs appear several to more than…
The tilt of solar active regions described by Joy's law is essential for converting a toroidal field to a poloidal field in Babcock-Leighton dynamo models. In thin flux tube models the Coriolis force causes Joy's law, acting on east-west flows as they rise towards the surface. Our goal is to measure the evolution of the average tilt angle of hundreds of active regions as they emerge, so that we can constrain the origins of Joy's law. We measured the tilt angle of the primary bipoles in 153 emerging active regions in the Solar Dynamics Observatory Helioseismic Emerging Active Region survey. We …
We employ the DAVE (differential affine velocity estimator, Schuck 2005; 2006) tracking technique on a time series of MDI/1m high spatial resolution line- of-sight magnetograms to measure the photospheric flow velocity for three newly emerging bipolar active regions. We separately calculate the magnetic helicity injection rate of the leading and following polarities to confirm or refute the magnetic helicity asymmetry, found by Tian & Alexander (2009) using MDI/96m low spatial resolution magnetograms. Our results demonstrate that the magnetic helicity asymmetry is robust being present in the t…
We report on a signature of chromospheric downflows in two emerging-flux regions detected by time-distance helioseismology analysis. We use both chromospheric intensity oscillation data in the Ca II H line and photospheric Dopplergrams in the Fe I 557.6nm line obtained by Hinode/SOT for our analyses. By cross-correlating the Ca II oscillation signals, we have detected a travel-time anomaly in the plage regions; outward travel times are shorter than inward travel times by 0.5-1 minute. However, such an anomaly is absent in the Fe I data. These results can be interpreted as evidence of downflows…
The complex dynamics that lead to the emergence of active regions on the sun are poorly understood. One possibility is that magnetic structures (flux tubes, etc.) rise from below the surface by self induction and convection that lead to the formation of active regions and sunspots on the solar surface. For space weather forecasting, one would like to detect the subsurface structures before they reach the surface. The goal of this study is to investigate whether sound speed perturbations associated with subsurface structures could affect the acoustic power observed at the solar surface above th…
An analysis using modern atomic data of fluxes culled from the literature for O VIII and Ne IX lines observed in solar active regions by the P78 and Solar Maximum Mission satellites confirms that the coronal Ne/O abundance ratio varies by a factor of two or more, and finds an increase in Ne/O with increasing active region plasma temperature. The latter is reminiscent of evidence for increasing Ne/O with stellar activity in low-activity coronae that reaches a "neon saturation" in moderately active stars at approximately twice the historically accepted solar value of about 0.15 by number. We arg…
We describe a 3D finite-difference spherical anelastic MHD (FSAM) code for modeling the subsonic dynamic processes in the solar convective envelope. A comparison of this code with the widely used global spectral anlastic MHD code, ASH (Anelastic Spherical Harmonics), shows that FSAM produces convective flows with statistical properties and mean flows similar to the ASH results. Using FSAM, we first simulate the rotating solar convection in a partial spherical shell domain and obtain a statistically steady, giant-cell convective flow with a solar-like differential rotation. We then insert buoya…
Magnetic reconnection occurs when new flux emerges into the corona and becomes incorporated into the existing coronal field. A new active region (AR) emerging in the vicinity of an existing AR provides a convenient laboratory in which reconnection of this kind can be quantified. We use high time-cadence 171 $Å$ data from SDO/AIA focused on new/old active region pair 11147/11149, to quantify reconnection. We identify new loops as brightenings within a strip of pixels between the regions. This strategy is premised on the assumption that the energy brightening a loop originates in magnetic reconn…
Aims. We investigate the role of the accumulation of both magnetic helicity and magnetic energy in the generation of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from emerging solar active regions (ARs). Methods. Using vector magnetic field data obtained by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we calculate the magnetic helicity and magnetic energy injection rates as well as the resulting accumulated budgets in 52 emerging ARs from the start time of magnetic flux emergence until they reach heliographic longitude of 45$^{\circ}$ West (W45). Results. Seven of the ARs pro…
Active Regions (ARs) that exhibit compact Polarity Inversion Lines (PILs) are known to be very flare-productive. However, the physical mechanisms behind this statistical inference have not been demonstrated conclusively. We show that such PILs can occur due to the collision between two emerging flux tubes nested within the same AR. In such multipolar ARs, the flux tubes may emerge simultaneously or sequentially, each initially producing a bipolar magnetic region (BMR) at the surface. During each flux tube's emergence phase, the magnetic polarities can migrate such that opposite polarities belo…
We investigate the atmospheric response to a small emerging flux region (EFR) that occurred in the positive polarity of Active Region 11236 on 23 \,-\ 24 June 2011. Data from the \textit{Solar Dynamics Observatory's Atmopheric Imaging Assembly} (AIA), the \textit{Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager} (HMI) and Hinode's \textit{EUV imaging spectrometer} (EIS) are used to determine the atmospheric response to new flux emerging into a pre-existing active region. Brightenings are seen forming in the upper photosphere, chromosphere, and corona over the EFR's location whilst flux cancellation is observe…
The temporal variation of the horizontal velocity in subsurface layers beneath three different types of active regions is studied using the technique of ring diagrams. In this study, we select active regions (ARs) 10923, 10930, 10935 from three consecutive Carrington rotations: AR 10930 contains a fast-rotating sunspot in a strong emerging active region while other two have non-rotating sunspots with emerging flux in AR 10923 and decaying flux in AR 10935. The depth range covered is from the surface to about 12 Mm. In order to minimize the influence of systematic effects, the selection of acti…
