2017/06/16 by Ioannis Giagkiozis, V. Fedun, Giagkiozis, Ioannis +5
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Solar Radiation and Photovoltaics #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR) #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1706.05428
openalex publication_date 2017/06/16 · openalex created_date 2017/06/30 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Aims. Due to the fundamental importance of vortices on the photosphere, in this work we aim to fully automate the process of intensity vortex identification to facilitate a more robust statistical analysis of their properties. Methods. Using on-disk observational data of the Fe I continuum, the process of vortex identification is fully automated, for the first time in solar physics, with the help of an established method from hydrodynamics initially employed for the study of eddies in turbulent flows (Graftieaux et al. 2001). Results. We find that the expected lifetime of intensity vortices is much shorter (~ 17s) compared with previously observed magnetic bright point swirls. Our findings suggest that at any time there are 1.4e6 such small-scale intensity vortices covering about 2.8% of the total surface of the solar photosphere.