Solar Physics Division Meeting 2000, June 19-22
Session 1. Helioseismology, Magnetic Fields, Chromosphere and Transition Region
Display, Chair: C. U. Keller, Monday-Thursday, June 19, 2000, 8:00am-6:00pm, Forum Ballroom

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[1.19] Untangling Sunspot Penumbrae: New Stokes Profile Analyses

K. D. Leka (Colorado Research Associates/NWRA), H. Socas Navarro (High Altitude Observatory/NCAR)

We present preliminary analyses of Stokes [I, Q, U, V] spectra of a sunspot penumbra using two different analysis/inversion procedures. It has long been known that the Stokes spectra from sunspot penumbrae, even at disk center, commonly show multiple lobes and asymmetries. Hence, the magnetic/thermodynamic maps obtained from Stokes spectra using Milne-Eddington approaches are good first approximations, but will not uncover any further details of penumbral physics. Penumbrae are known to be very structured, hence we first present the results of an inversion using a recent augmentation to the HAO inversion routine: the ability to model the observed spectra using two magnetic atmospheres in addition to the non-magnetic atmosphere. Such a 'three-component' approach is useful to interpret unresolved structures which contribute to signals within the resolution elements. Second, we present the results of an inversion using the new "LILIA" code, currently under development at HAO. LILIA is the "community Stokes inversion code" component of the Solar Magnetism Initiative (SMI), and is based on the strategy of Ruiz Cobo and del Toro Iniesta (1992, ApJ, 398, 375). We describe the strengths and limitations of the two approaches, with attention to their application for the community at large to interpret data from both current and future ground-based and space-based instruments.


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