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arXiv · 1009.2410

The Area Distribution of Solar Magnetic Bright Points

P. J. Crockett·M. Mathioudakis·D. B. Jess·S. Shelyag·F. P. Keenan·D. J. Christian
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Abstract

Magnetic Bright Points (MBPs) are among the smallest observable objects on the solar photosphere. A combination of G-band observations and numerical simulations is used to determine their area distribution. An automatic detection algorithm, employing 1-dimensional intensity profiling, is utilized to identify these structures in the observed and simulated datasets. Both distributions peak at an area of $\approx$45000 km$^2$, with a sharp decrease towards smaller areas. The distributions conform with log-normal statistics, which suggests that flux fragmentation dominates over flux convergence. Radiative magneto-convection simulations indicate an independence in the MBP area distribution for differing magnetic flux densities. The most commonly occurring bright point size corresponds to the typical width of intergranular lanes.

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P. J. Crockett, M. Mathioudakis, D. B. Jess, S. Shelyag, F. P. Keenan, D. J. Christian. 2010-09-13. The Area Distribution of Solar Magnetic Bright Points. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205%2F722%2F2%2Fl188

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