Speaker
Aimee Norton
(Stanford University)
Description
We report on the formation and decay of active regions as
observed with HMI vector B and Ic data. Observed quantities
such as flux emergence rates and maximum footpoint
separations can be used to test the accuracy of numerical
simulations of sunspot formation. We calculated the
emergence and decay rates with and without intensity
contours, i.e., we differentiate between flux emergence and
sunspot formation. We compare observed values to recent
numerical simulations of Rempel & Cheung (2014) and others.
We observe emergence to occur at a rate that is an order of
magnitude slower than what is produced in simulations. Decay
rates are half that of emergence. We also find that sunspots
form simultaneously with flux emergence without a lag time.
Primary author
Aimee Norton
(Stanford University)
