Light Walls Around Sunspots Observed by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph

Abstract

The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) mission provides high-resolution observations of the chromosphere and transition region. We try to determine whether the light walls exist somewhere else in active regions besides light bridges. Employing half-year high tempo-spatial data from the IRIS, we find lots of light walls either around sunspots or above light bridges. For the first time, we report one light wall near an umbral-penumbral boundary and another along a neutral line between two small sunspots. These new observations reveal that these light walls are multi-layer and multi-thermal structures which occur along magnetic neutral lines in active regions.

4 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in A&A Letters