Evolution of the fine structure of magnetic fields in the quiet Sun: Combining Sunrise observations and modelling

Wiegelmann, T.; Solanki, S.; Borrero, J.; Martinez Pillet, V.; Sunrise Team
Bibliographical reference

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #SH41B-06

Advertised on:
12
2011
Number of authors
5
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
Observations with the balloon borne SUNRISE/IMAX instrument provide us with unprecedented high spatial resolution (pixel size 40 km) measurements of the magnetic field in the photosphere of the quiet Sun. To investigate the magnetic structure of the chromosphere and corona we extrapolate these photospheric measurements into the upper solar atmosphere and analyse a timeseries with a cadence of 33s. We find that the majority of closed loops which reach into the chromosphere or corona have one foot point in strong photospheric magnetic field regions (B>300 G). Most loops are asymmetric and the weaker foot point is often located in the internetwork. We find that the magnetic connectivity of the loops changes rapidly with a typical recycling time of about 2 min in the upper solar atmosphere and 14 min in the photosphere. We discuss, to which extend the observed topological changes can be interpreted as evidence for magnetic reconnection and the relevance of these processes for coronal heating.