Spectral magnetic helicity of solar active regions between 2006 and 2017

Abstract

We compute magnetic helicity and energy spectra from about 2485 patches of about 100 megameters (Mm) side length on the solar surface using data from Hinode during 2006--2017. An extensive database is assembled where we list magnetic energy and helicity, large- and small-scale magnetic helicity, mean current helicity density, fractional magnetic helicity, and correlation length along with the Hinode map identification number (MapID), as well as Carrington latitude and longitude for each MapID. While there are departures from the hemispheric sign rule for magnetic and current helicities, the weak trend reported here is in agreement with the previous results. This is argued to be a physical effect associated with the dominance of individual active regions that contribute more strongly in the better resolved Hinode maps. In comparison with earlier work, the typical correlation length is found to be 6-8 Mm, while the length scale relating magnetic and current helicity to each other is found to be around 1.4 Mm.

10 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables, submitted to ApJ; see http://www.nordita.org/~brandenb/project/Hinode for online data

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• The causality between the rapid rotation of a sunspot and an X3.4 flare
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Cited by in corpus (5)

• On the origin of the solar hemispherical helicity rules: Simulations of the rise of magnetic flux concentrations in a background field
• Magnetic Helicity Flux across Solar Active Region Photospheres: I. Hemispheric Sign Preference in Solar Cycle 24
• Energy and helicity fluxes in line-tied eruptive simulations
• Helicity proxies from linear polarisation of solar active regions
• Ill-posedness of the mean-field dynamo equations with a linear electromotive force