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Helioseismic inferences on subsurface solar convection
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 August 2006
Abstract
Helioseismology has provided robust estimates of global properties of the solar convection zone, its depth, stratification, and revealed rotational shear layers at the boundaries. New methods of local helioseismology provide 3D maps of subsurface convective flows. In the quiet Sun regions, these maps reveal that supergranular-scale convection extends to the depth of 12–15 Mm. Analysis of evolution of the supergranular convection pattern shows evidence for a wave-like behavior which might be related to the interaction between convection and the subsurface rotational sheer layer. Helioseismology also reveals large-scale circulation flows around magnetic regions. These flows affect the evolution of the mean meridional flow during the solar cycle and, probably, the magnetic flux transport from mid-latitudes to the polar regions, a process important for solar dynamo theories. Helioseismic measurements on a smaller scale, below sunspots, give insight on how convection interacts with strong magnetic fields.
- Type
- Contributed Papers
- Information
- Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 2 , Symposium S239: Convection in Astrophysics , August 2006 , pp. 113 - 121
- Copyright
- Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2007