Sustaining the Quiet Photospheric Network: The Balance of Flux Emergence, Fragmentation, Merging, and Cancellation

摘要

The magnetic field in the solar photosphere evolves as flux concentrations fragment in response to sheared flows, merge when they collide with others of equal polarity, or (partially) cancel against concentrations of opposite polarity. Newly emerging flux replaces the canceled flux. We present a quantitative statistical model that is consistent with the histogram of fluxes contained in concentrations of magnetic flux in the quiet network for fluxes exceeding ≈2 * 10~18 Mx, as well as with estimated collision frequencies and fragmentation rates.