[ NATO-PCO Home Page ] [ Table of Contents of NEWSLETTER # 52 ]

........ published in NEWSLETTER # 52

SOLAR SURFACE MAGNETISM
by Dr. R.J. Rutten and Dr. C.J. Schrijver, Sterrekundig Instituut, Utrecht (The Netherlands)

The fascinating phenomena of solar magnetic activity formed the subject of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop in Soesterberg of which this volume contains the proceedings (NATO ASI SERIES C433). While the emergence and evolution of solar surface magnetic flux reveals what goes on in the solar interior, the interplay of convection and magnetic field in the photosphere regulates the field dispersal and drives the instabilities which heat the outer solar atmosphere. The workshop aimed for a synthesis between observers and theorists, both with regard to the magnetic elements which make up solar magnetic fields (ranging from tiny fluxtubes to whole active regions), and to the surface patterns in which these elements display properties of the subsurface dynamo. A major breakthrough comes from numerical simulations. Modeling of flux concentration, fluxtube dynamics, penumbral topology, umbral fine structure etc. turns solar physics into an experimental science. The reviews and research papers in this volume provide an up_to_date overview of the solar frontier of astrophysical magnetohydrodynamics.

The elements and patterns of solar surface magnetism contain much information about the subsurface solar dynamo as well as on the magnetically dominated energy budget and structuring of the outer solar atmosphere. The volume treats high_resolution solar polarimetry, the physics of solar magnetic elements, and the information contained in their patterns of emergence on the solar surface in depth, with a good balance between theoretical and observational studies.

The book contains excellent authorative reviews on solar magnetism given by renowned experts in the field. It also contains contributions detailing ongoing research. It is intended for specialists; good introductions are furnished by the tutorial ASI volume edited by Schmelz & Brown (C373) and by the proceedings of the Cambridge ARW on sunspots (Thomas & Weiss, NATO ASI SERIES C375).
Reference books: C152, C263, C341, C373, C375, C 433

[ NATO-PCO Home Page ]