Quiet Sun internetwork magnetic fields from the inversion of Hinode measurements

TL;DR

This study uses Hinode satellite spectropolarimetric data to analyze the magnetic field properties of the quiet Sun's internetwork regions, revealing predominantly inclined, weak magnetic fields with high spatial resolution.

Contribution

It provides detailed probability density functions of magnetic field strength and inclination in the quiet Sun internetwork from high-resolution Hinode data, confirming the prevalence of inclined, weak fields.

Findings

Internetwork regions are covered by inclined, hG magnetic fields.

Network areas show kG magnetic field concentrations.

High spatial resolution aligns visible and near-infrared line analysis results.

Abstract

We analyze Fe I 630 nm observations of the quiet Sun at disk center taken with the spectropolarimeter of the Solar Optical Telescope aboard the Hinode satellite. A significant fraction of the scanned area, including granules, turns out to be covered by magnetic fields. We derive field strength and inclination probability density functions from a Milne-Eddington inversion of the observed Stokes profiles. They show that the internetwork consists of very inclined, hG fields. As expected, network areas exhibit a predominance of kG field concentrations. The high spatial resolution of Hinode's spectropolarimetric measurements brings to an agreement the results obtained from the analysis of visible and near-infrared lines.