Intermittency Spectra of the Magnetic Field in Solar Active Regions

TL;DR

This study analyzes the intermittency and multifractality of magnetic fields in 214 solar active regions, revealing correlations between magnetic complexity and flare productivity, and highlighting the significance of multifractal organization in solar flare activity.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive analysis of intermittency spectra across multiple datasets, linking magnetic field complexity to flare productivity with new insights into multifractal structures.

Findings

Intermittency spectra correlate with flare productivity (r = -0.63).

High-flaring ARs exhibit broader multifractality spectra.

Magnetic structures in high-flaring ARs are more monofractal and complex.

Abstract

We present results of a study of intermittency and multifractality of magnetic structures in solar active regions (ARs). Line-of-sight magnetograms for 214 ARs of different flare productivity observed at the center of the solar disk from January 1997 until December 2006 are utilized. Data from the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) instrument on-board the {\it Solar and Heliospheric Observatory} (SOHO) operating in the high resolution mode, the Big Bear Solar Observatory digital magnetograph and {\it Hinode} SOT/SP instrument were used. Intermittency spectra were derived via high-order structure functions and flatness functions. The flatness function exponent is a measure of the degree of intermittency. We found that the flatness function exponent at scales below approximately 10 Mm is correlated to the flare productivity (the correlation coefficient is - 0.63). {\it Hinode} data show that the intermittency regime is extended toward the small scales (below 2 Mm) as compared to the MDI data. The spectra of multifractality, derived from the structure functions and flatness functions, are found to be more broad for ARs of highest flare productivity as compared to that of low flare productivity. The magnetic structure of high-flaring ARs consists of a voluminous set of monofractals, and this set is much richer than that for low-flaring ARs. The results indicate relevance of the multifractal organization of the photospheric magnetic fields to the flaring activity. Strong intermittency observed in complex and high-flaring ARs is a hint that we observe a photospheric imprint of enhanced sub-photospheric dynamics.