Imaging Spectropolarimetry with IBIS: Evolution of Bright Points in the Quiet Sun

Abstract

We present the results from first spectropolarimetric observations of the solar photosphere acquired at the Dunn Solar Telescope with the Interferometric Bidimensional Spectrometer. Full Stokes profiles were measured in the Fe I 630.15 nm and Fe I 630.25 nm lines with high spatial and spectral resolutions for 53 minutes, with a Stokes V noise of 0.003 the continuum intensity level. The dataset allows us to study the evolution of several magnetic features associated with G-band bright points in the quiet Sun. Here we focus on the analysis of three distinct processes, namely the coalescence, fragmentation and cancellation of G-band bright points. Our analysis is based on a SIR inversion of the Stokes I and V profiles of both Fe I lines. The high spatial resolution of the G-band images combined with the inversion results helps to interpret the undergoing physical processes. The appearance (dissolution) of high-contrast G-band bright points is found to be related to the local increase (decrease) of the magnetic filling factor, without appreciable changes in the field strength. The cancellation of opposite-polarity bright points can be the signature of either magnetic reconnection or the emergence/submergence of magnetic loops.

4 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

References in corpus (4)

• Quiet Sun internetwork magnetic fields from the inversion of Hinode measurements
• Inter-Network magnetic fields observed with sub-arcsec resolution
• Bright points in the inter-network quiet Sun
• Motions of Isolated G-Band Bright Points in the Solar Photosphere

Cited by in corpus (22)

• The Imaging Magnetograph eXperiment (IMaX) for the Sunrise balloon-borne solar observatory
• MHD wave transmission in the Sun's atmosphere
• Dynamics of isolated magnetic bright points derived from Hinode/SOT G-band observations
• Instrumentation for solar spectropolarimetry: state of the art and prospects
• The GREGOR Fabry-Pérot Interferometer
• Imaging Spectropolarimetry with IBIS II: on the fine structure of G-band bright features
• Magnetic field strength distribution of magnetic bright points inferred from filtergrams and spectro-polarimetric data
• Three-minute wave enhancement in the solar photosphere
• Application of speckle and (multi-object) multi-frame blind deconvolution techniques on imaging and imaging spectropolarimetric data
• Spatial distribution and statistical properties of small-scale convective vortex-like motions in a quiet Sun region
• Dynamics of multi-cored magnetic structures in the quiet Sun
• Response of Granulation to Small Scale Bright Features in the Quiet Sun
• Plasma properties and Stokes profiles during the lifetime of a photospheric magnetic bright point
• Observational evidence for two-component distributions describing solar magnetic bright points
• Super-diffusion versus competitive advection: a simulation
• Center-to-limb variation of the area covered by magnetic bright points in the quiet Sun
• IBIS-A: The IBIS data Archive. High resolution observations of the solar photosphere and chromosphere with contextual data
• Morphology and Dynamics of the Low Solar Chromosphere
• Oscillatory behavior in the quiet Sun observed with the New Solar Telescope
• Effects of unresolved magnetic field on Fe I 617.3 and 630.2 nm line shapes
• Line shape effects on intensity measurements of solar features: Brightness correction to SoHO MDI continuum images
• An Observational Test of Solar Plasma Heating by Magnetic Flux Cancellation