0000000000958685
AUTHOR
Laura A. Balmaceda
Spatial distribution and statistical properties of small-scale convective vortex-like motions in a quiet-Sun region
High-resolution observations of a quiet Sun internetwork region taken with the Solar 1-m Swedish Telescope in La Palma are analyzed. We determine the location of small-scale vortex motions in the solar photospheric region by computing the horizontal proper motions of small-scale structures on time series of images. These plasma convectively-driven swirl motions are associated to: (1) downdrafts (that have been commonly explained as corresponding to sites where the plasma is cooled down and hence returned to the interior below the visible photospheric level), and (2) horizontal velocity vectors converging into a central point. The sink cores are proved to be the final destination of passive …
Evidence of small-scale magnetic concentrations dragged by vortex motion of solar photospheric plasma
Vortex-type motions have been measured by tracking bright points in high-resolution observations of the solar photosphere. These small-scale motions are thought to be determinant in the evolution of magnetic footpoints and their interaction with plasma and therefore likely to play a role in heating the upper solar atmosphere by twisting magnetic flux tubes. We report the observation of magnetic concentrations being dragged towards the center of a convective vortex motion in the solar photosphere from high-resolution ground-based and space-borne data. We describe this event by analyzing a series of images at different solar atmospheric layers. By computing horizontal proper motions, we detec…