shelyag-vorticityinthe-2011.pdf (1.61 MB)
Vorticity in the solar photosphere
conference contribution
posted on 2011-02-01, 00:00 authored by Sergiy ShelyagSergiy Shelyag, P Keys, M Mathioudakis, F P KeenanAims: We use magnetic and non-magnetic 3D numerical simulations of solar granulation and G-band radiative diagnostics from the resulting models to analyse the generation of small-scale vortex motions in the solar photosphere.Methods: Radiative MHD simulations of magnetoconvection are used to produce photospheric models. Our starting point is a nonmagnetic model of solar convection, where we introduce a uniform magnetic field and follow the evolution of the field in the simulated photosphere. We find two different types of photospheric vortices, and provide a link between the vorticity generation and the presence of the intergranular magnetic field. A detailed analysis of the vorticity equation, combined with the G-band radiative diagnostics, allows us to identify the sources and observational signatures of photospheric vorticity in the simulated photosphere.Results: Tw o d i fferent types of photospheric vorticity, magnetic and non-magnetic, are generated in the domain. Non-magnetic vortices are generated by the baroclinic motions of the plasma in the photosphere, while magnetic vortices are produced by the magnetic tension in the intergranular magnetic flux concentrations. The two types of vortices have different shapes. We find that the vorticity is generated more efficiently in the magnetised model. Simulated G-band images show a direct connection between magnetic vortices and rotary motions of photospheric bright points, and suggest that there may be a connection between the magnetic bright point rotation and small-scale swirl motions observed higher in the atmosphere.
History
Event
European Southern Observatory. Conference (2010)Volume
526Issue
5Pagination
1 - 7Publisher
EDP SciencesLocation
[Unknown]Place of publication
London, Eng.Publisher DOI
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Start date
2010-01-01End date
2010-01-01ISSN
0004-6361eISSN
1432-0746Language
engPublication classification
E1.1 Full written paper - refereedCopyright notice
2010, ESOEditor/Contributor(s)
[Unknown]Title of proceedings
ESO 2010 : Proceedings of the ESO Workshop 2010Usage metrics
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