On the size distribution of sunspot groups in the Greenwich sunspot record 1874-1976

Abstract

We investigate the size distribution of the maximum areas and the instantaneous distribution of areas of sunspot groups using the Greenwich sunspot group record spanning the interval 1874-1976. Both distributions are found to be well described by log-normal functions. Using a simple model we can transform the maximum area distribution into the instantaneous area distribution if the sunspot area decay rates are also distributed log-normally. For single-valued decay rates the resulting snapshot distribution is incompatible with the observations. The current analysis therefore supports the results of Howard (1992) and MartinezPillet (1993). It is not possible to distinguish between a linear and a quadratic decay law, however, with the employed data set.

arXiv commentaccepted by A&A

References in corpus (2)

• Citation Statistics from 110 Years of Physical Review
• Making Sense of Sunspot Decay I: Parabolic Decay Law and Gnevyshev-Waldmeier Relation

Cited by in corpus (51)

• The solar magnetic field
• The standard flare model in three dimensions. II. Upper limit on solar flare energy
• Multiwavelength studies of MHD waves in the solar chromosphere: An overview of recent results
• Extreme solar events
• Magnetic Flux Transport at the Solar Surface
• A New Calibrated Sunspot Group Series Since 1749: Statistics of Active Day Fractions
• The solar magnetic field since 1700: I. Characteristics of sunspot group emergence and reconstruction of the butterfly diagram
• Using the Sun to estimate Earth-like planets detection capabilities. V. Parameterizing the impact of solar activity components on radial velocities
• Small-Scale and Global Dynamos and the Area and Flux Distributions of Active Regions, Sunspot Groups, and Sunspots: A Multi-Database Study
• Modeling the Longitudinal Asymmetry in Sunspot Emergence -- the Role of the Wilson Depression
• On the relationship between the size and surface coverage of starspots on magnetically active low-mass stars
• Transit mapping of a starspot on CoRoT-2 - Probing a stellar surface by planetary transits
• Properties of sunspot umbrae observed in Cycle 24
• Re-examining Sunspot Tilt Angle to Include Anti-Hale Statistics
• Kodaikanal Digitized White-light Data Archive (1921-2011): Analysis of various solar cycle features
• Reconstruction of spectral solar irradiance since 1700 from simulated magnetograms
• Spot evolution on the red giant star XX Triangulum. A starspot-decay analysis based on time-series Doppler imaging
• Inflection point in the power spectrum of stellar brightness variations. I. The model
• A New Method for Estimating Starspot Lifetimes Based on Autocorrelation Functions
• Activity time series of old stars from late F to early K. I. Simulating radial velocity, astrometry, photometry, and chromospheric emission
• Sunspot areas and tilt angles for solar cycles 7-10
• Torus-Stable Zone Above Starspots
• Sunspot Sizes and The Solar Cycle: Analysis Using Kodaikanal White-light Digitized Data
• On the Collective Magnetic Field Strength and Vector Structure of Dark Umbral Cores Measured by the Hinode Spectropolarimeter
• Stellar activity as noise in exoplanet detection I. Methods and application to solar-like stars and activity cycles
• Activity time series of old stars from late F to early K. II. Radial velocity jitter and exoplanet detectability
• Amplification of brightness variability by active-region nesting in solar-like stars
• Power spectra of solar brightness variations at different inclinations
• The Minimum of Solar Cycle 23: As Deep as It Could Be?
• Digitization of sunspot drawings by Spörer made in 1861-1894
• Digitized archive of the Kodaikanal images: Representative results of solar cycle variation from sunspot area determination
• Forward modelling of Kepler-band variability due to faculae and spots
• Average annual total sunspot area in the last 410 years: The most probable values and limits of their uncertainties
• Transition from spot to faculae domination -- An alternate explanation for the dearth of intermediate \textit{Kepler} rotation periods
• Properties of the inner penumbral boundary and temporal evolution of a decaying sunspot
• Association of Plages With Sunspots: A multi wavelength Study Using Kodaikanal Ca $\text{II}$ K and Greenwich sunspot area Data
• Tests of sunspot number sequences: 4. Discontinuities around 1946 in various sunspot number and sunspot group number reconstructions
• Spot cycle reconstruction: an empirical tool - Application to the sunspot cycle
• On the relation between active-region lifetimes and the autocorrelation function of light curves
• Closeby Habitable Exoplanet Survey (CHES). I. Astrometric Noise and Planetary Detection Efficiency due to Stellar Spots and Faculae
• Towards Extremely Precise Radial Velocities: I. Simulated Solar Spectra for Testing Exoplanet Detection Algorithms
• Predictions of astrometric jitter for Sun-like stars. I. The model and its application to the Sun as seen from the ecliptic
• Predictions of Astrometric Jitter for Sun-like Stars. III. Fast Rotators
• On the size distribution of spots within sunspot groups
• Probability Distribution Functions of Sunspot Magnetic Flux
• The best of both worlds: Using automatic detection and limited human supervision to create a homogenous magnetic catalog spanning four solar cycles
• Precise and efficient modeling of stellar-activity-affected solar spectra using SOAP-GPU
• Solar observatory Einstein Tower -- Data release of the digitized solar full-disk photographic plate archive
• Inferring hemispheric asymmetries of stellar active regions through the information content of astrometric signals
• Flow instabilities of magnetic flux tubes -- III. Toroidal flux tubes
• Astrometric exoplanet detection survives solar-like stellar contamination