Magnetofrictional simulations of Active Region 13500 reproduce its transition from stability to eruption and show that a massive sigmoid flux rope formed during the decay phase. The eruption began when the current-carrying helicity ratio reached about 0.3, indicating that helicity-based markers can help diagnose the eruptive potential of active regions.
HMI data from Solar Cycle 24 data are used to determine how often the Sun emerges sunspots in activity nests. It is found that the Sun shows moderate nesting behavior with 41% (48%) of AR magnetic flux found in northern (southern) hemisphere located in nests. The maximum number of nests are found with slightly prograde rotational velocities, and the nesting behavior is asymmetric in the hemispheres.
Helioseismic analysis of solar torsional oscillations reveals dynamo-wave–like signatures that originate near the tachocline and propagate through the convection zone, linking internal zonal flows to the surface magnetic cycle. Additional evidence from frequency-splitting coefficients and rotational shear variations shows strong solar-cycle correlations, supporting the tachocline as a primary site of solar dynamo action.
A statistical comparison between HMI vector magnetograms and line-of-sight–derived radial fields shows that LOS-based estimates systematically underestimate the true radial field, with the bias increasing toward the limb. A numerical modeling demonstrate that this center-to-limb variation in the underestimation of radial field arises from non-radial magnetic field inclinations.
Equatorial Rossby waves at different depths are studied, and it is found that the Rossby waves are tilted retrograde with depth rather than being a columnar structure. The tilt remains relatively stable through the solar cycle without being consistently modulated by magnetic activity.
We report a point spread function (PSF) and deconvolution procedure to remove stray light from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) data. The deconvolution uses a Richardson-Lucy algorithm and takes less than one second per full-disk image. In 2018, the HMI team began providing full-disk, stray-light-corrected data daily. The results, on average, show decreases in umbral continuum intensity, a doubling of the granulation intensity contrast, increases in the total field strength, most notably in plage by ∼1.4–2.5 the original value, and a partial correction for the convective blueshift.
A robust, calibrated method for measuring sunspot areas from SOHO/MDI and SDO/HMI full-disk images enables a consistent, observer-independent, long-term catalogue of daily sunspot areas, revealing detailed patterns of sunspot group area evolution and solar cycle variability.
Through MHD simulations of flux eruptions, the study finds that the current helicity decreases prior to eruptions and then reverses to increase afterward. By examining multiple flare events, the authors identified observational evidence supporting these simulation results.
Multiple X-class flares and CMEs were produced by AR 13664/8 during the Mother’s Day week of 2024. This study suggests that predicting the locations of magnetically complex active regions, and studying and tracking their eruptive states using different proxy parameters can greatly improve the capability to forecast intense storms.
Each solar active region (AR) has its unique shape, size, and lifetime. In this work, the authors developed a method to ‘average’ bipolar ARs by normalizing their size, orientation, and timing, thereby revealing the typical properties of an AR and its evolutionary pattern.