Bibcode
Felipe, T.; Khomenko, E.; Collados, M.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 735, Issue 1, article id. 65 (2011).
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7
2011
Journal
Citations
35
Refereed citations
33
Description
We aim at reproducing the height dependence of sunspot wave signatures
obtained from spectropolarimetric observations through three-dimensional
MHD numerical simulations. A magnetostatic sunspot model based on the
properties of the observed sunspot is constructed and perturbed at the
photosphere, introducing the fluctuations measured with the Si I
λ10827 line. The results of the simulations are compared with the
oscillations observed simultaneously at different heights from the He I
λ10830 line, the Ca II H core, and the Fe I blends in the wings
of the Ca II H line. The simulations show a remarkable agreement with
the observations. They reproduce the velocity maps and power spectra at
the formation heights of the observed lines, as well as the phase and
amplification spectra between several pairs of lines. We find that the
stronger shocks at the chromosphere are accompanied with a delay between
the observed signal and the simulated one at the corresponding height,
indicating that shocks shift the formation height of the chromospheric
lines to higher layers. Since the simulated wave propagation matches
very well the properties of the observed one, we are able to use the
numerical calculations to quantify the energy contribution of the
magnetoacoustic waves to the chromospheric heating in sunspots. Our
findings indicate that the energy supplied by these waves is too low to
balance the chromospheric radiative losses. The energy contained at the
formation height of the lowermost Si I λ10827 line in the form of
slow magnetoacoustic waves is already insufficient to heat the higher
layers, and the acoustic energy which reaches the chromosphere is around
3-9 times lower than the required amount of energy. The contribution of
the magnetic energy is even lower.
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