Magnetic properties of orphan penumbrae

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Durán, J. S. Castellanos, Löptien, B., Korpi-Lagg, A., Solanki, S. K., van Noort, M.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Durán, J. S. Castellanos
Löptien, B.
Korpi-Lagg, A.
Solanki, S. K.
van Noort, M.
author_facet Durán, J. S. Castellanos
Löptien, B.
Korpi-Lagg, A.
Solanki, S. K.
van Noort, M.
contents Orphan penumbrae (OPU) are features resembling sunspot penumbrae, but are not connected to an umbra. Here we compare OPUs and sunspot penumbrae, including their filaments. We also identify and describe the main mechanisms for the formation of OPUs and we characterise their decay process. Our study is based on spectropolarimetric inversions of active regions observed with the Hinode spectropolarimeter. We manually identified 80 individual OPUs, allowing us to study them statistically. In addition, we analysed the time-evolution of selected OPUs using data provided by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager. Orphan penumbrae display a broad range of shapes, associated with typically $Ω$-shaped magnetic field configurations, where opposite polarity fields predominate at the two ends of the OPU. In addition, the properties of the OPU filaments are remarkably uniform between different OPUs, resembling the ones in sunspot penumbrae. Most OPUs form by either a patch of a penumbra separating from a sunspot, or by new magnetic flux emerging close to the polarity inversion line of an active region. We observe chromospheric fibrils above almost all OPUs in Hinode H$α$ images, indicating that a part of the magnetic field of the OPUs extends to the chromosphere. Our results show that OPU filaments can form given a broad range of boundary conditions for the magnetic field.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_08117
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Magnetic properties of orphan penumbrae
Durán, J. S. Castellanos
Löptien, B.
Korpi-Lagg, A.
Solanki, S. K.
van Noort, M.
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Space Physics
Orphan penumbrae (OPU) are features resembling sunspot penumbrae, but are not connected to an umbra. Here we compare OPUs and sunspot penumbrae, including their filaments. We also identify and describe the main mechanisms for the formation of OPUs and we characterise their decay process. Our study is based on spectropolarimetric inversions of active regions observed with the Hinode spectropolarimeter. We manually identified 80 individual OPUs, allowing us to study them statistically. In addition, we analysed the time-evolution of selected OPUs using data provided by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager. Orphan penumbrae display a broad range of shapes, associated with typically $Ω$-shaped magnetic field configurations, where opposite polarity fields predominate at the two ends of the OPU. In addition, the properties of the OPU filaments are remarkably uniform between different OPUs, resembling the ones in sunspot penumbrae. Most OPUs form by either a patch of a penumbra separating from a sunspot, or by new magnetic flux emerging close to the polarity inversion line of an active region. We observe chromospheric fibrils above almost all OPUs in Hinode H$α$ images, indicating that a part of the magnetic field of the OPUs extends to the chromosphere. Our results show that OPU filaments can form given a broad range of boundary conditions for the magnetic field.
title Magnetic properties of orphan penumbrae
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Space Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.08117