The formation and decay of sunspot penumbra in Active Region NOAA 12673

TL;DR

This study investigates the magnetic field evolution during sunspot penumbra formation and decay, revealing distinct magnetic and flow changes that differentiate the processes from umbra evolution.

Contribution

It provides detailed observational insights into the magnetic field transformations and flow dynamics involved in sunspot penumbra formation and decay.

Findings

Penumbra formation originates from emerging magnetic bipoles.

Magnetic fields in penumbra shift from horizontal to vertical during decay.

Moat flow around sunspots diminishes as they decay.

Abstract

To better understand the formation and decay of sunspot penumbra, we studied the evolution of sunspots in the three regions of the active-region NOAA 12673 in detail. The evolution of sunspots in the three regions were all involved in the interaction of two magnetic field systems: the pre-existing magnetic field system and the later emerging magnetic field system. Through analyzing the photospheric magnetic field properties, it is found that the formation of the penumbra originated from the newly emerging magnetic bipole that were trapped in the photosphere. The change of magnetic fields in penumbra from horizontal to vertical can cause the disappearance of penumbra. The transformation of the magnetic field between the umbra and the penumbra is found and the outward moat flow around sunspot gradually decreased and vanished during the decay of sunspot. In addition, we found that the mean longitudinal magnetic strength in penumbra decreased and the mean transverse magnetic strength in penumbra increased with the increasing penumbral area during the formation of sunspots. However, during the decay of sunspots, the mean longitudinal magnetic strength in penumbra increased and the mean transverse magnetic strength in penumbra decreased with the decreasing penumbral area. Comparatively, the dependence of the area and the mean transverse/longitudinal magnetic field strength in umbra is not remarkable. These results reveal that the formation and decay process of umbra are different with penumbra.