Since photospheric bright points (BPs) were first observed, there has been a question as to how are they structured. Are they just single flux tubes or a bundle of the flux-tubes? Surface photometry of the quiet Sun (QS) has achieved resolution close to 0.1″ with the New Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory. This resolution allowed us to detect a richer spectrum of BPs in the QS. The smallest BPs we observed with TiO 705.68 nm were 0.13″, and we were able to resolve individual components in some of the BPs clusters and ribbons observed in the QS, showing that they are composed of the individual BPs. Average size of observed BPs was 0.22″.

The original sunspot observations by Samuel Heinrich Schwabe of 1825–1867 were digitized and a first subset of spots was measured. In this initial project, we determined more than 14 000 sunspot positions and areas comprising about 11% of the total amount of spots available from that period. The resulting butterfly diagram has a typical appearance, but with evident north-south asymmetries.

We have observed formation of penumbrae on a pore in the active region NOAA10838 using Dunn Solar Telescope at NSO, Sunpot, USA. Simultaneous observations using different instruments (DLSP, UBF, Gband and CaK) provide us with vector magnetic field at photosphere, intensity images and Doppler velocity at different heights from photosphere to chromosphere. Results from our analysis of this particular data-set suggests that penumbrae are formed as a result of relaxation of magnetic field due to a flare happening at the same time. Images in Hα show the flare (C 2.9 as per GOES) and vector magnetic fields show a re-orientation and reduction in the global α value (a measure of twist). We feel such relaxation of loop structures due to reconnections or flare could be one of the way by which field lines fall back to the photosphere to form penumbrae.

In the Sun there has been much progress towards answering fundamental problems with profound implications for the behaviour of cosmic magnetic fields in other stars. A review is given here of such problems, including identifying some of the outstanding questions that remain. In the solar interior, the main dynamo operates at the base of the convection zone, but its details have not been identified. In the solar surface, recent observations have revealed many new and surprising properties of magnetic fields, but understanding the key processes of flux emergence, fragmentation, merging and cancellation is rudimentary. Sunspots have until very recently been an enigma. In the atmosphere, there are many new ideas for coronal heating and solar wind acceleration, but the mechanisms have not yet been pinned down. Also, the detailed mechanisms for solar flares and coronal mass ejections remain controversial. In future, new generations of space and ground-based measurements and computational modelling should enable a definitive physical understanding of these puzzles.

Numerical 3D simulations of MHD waves in magnetized regions with background flows are very important for the understanding of propagation and transformation of waves in sunspots. Such simulations provide artificial data for testing and calibration of helioseismic techniques used for analysis of data from space missions SOHO/MDI, SDO/HMI, and HINODE. We compare with helioseismic observations results of numerical simulations of MHD waves in different models of sunspots. The simulations of waves excited by a localized source provide a detailed picture of the interaction of the MHD waves with the magnetic field and background flows (deformation of the waveform, wave transformation, amplitude variations and anisotropy). The observed cross-covariance function represents an effective Green's function of helioseismic waves. As an initial step, we compare it with simulations of waves generated by a localized source. More thorough analysis implies using multiple sources and comparison of the observed and simulated cross-covariance functions. We plan to do such calculations in the nearest future. Both, the simulations and observations show that the wavefront inside the sunspot travels ahead of a reference “quiet Sun” wavefront, when the wave enters the sunspot. However, when the wave passes the sunspot, the time lag between the wavefronts becomes unnoticeable.

How magnetic field structure changes with eruptive events (e.g., flares and CMEs) has been a long-standing problem in solar physics. Here we present the analysis of eruption-associated changes in the magnetic inclination angle, the transverse component of magnetic field and the Lorentz force. The analysis is based on an observation of the X3.4 flare on Dec.13 2006 and a numerical simulation of a solar eruption made by Yuhong Fan. Both observation and simulation show that (1) the magnetic inclination angle in the decayed peripheral penumbra increases, while that in the central area close to flaring polarity inversion line (PIL) deceases after the flare; (2) the transverse component of magnetic field increases at the lower altitude near flaring PIL after the flare. The result suggests that the field lines at flaring neutral line turn to more horizontal near the surface, that is in agreement with the prediction of Hudson, Fisher & Welsch (2008).

We investigate the combined effects of thermal conduction, compressive viscosity and optically thin radiative losses on the period ratio, P1/2P2, (P1 is the period of the fundamental mode and P2 is the period of its first harmonic) of a slow mode propagating one dimensionally. We obtain the dispersion relation and solve it to study the influence of non-ideal effects on the period ratio. The dependence of period ratio on thermal conductivity, compressive viscosity and radiative losses has been shown graphically. It is found that the effect of thermal conduction on the period ratio is negligible while compressive viscosity and radiation have sufficient effects for small loops and large loops respectively.

Our recent studies of late B-type stars with HgMn peculiarity revealed for the first time the presence of fast dynamical evolution of chemical spots on their surfaces. These observations suggest a hitherto unknown physical process operating in the stars with radiative outer envelopes. Furthermore, we have also discovered existence of magnetic fields on these stars that have up to now been thought to be non-magnetic. Here we will discuss the dynamical spot evolution on HD 11753 and our new results on magnetic fields on AR Aur.

We use 3D radiative MHD simulations of the upper turbulent convection layer for investigation of physical mechanisms of formation of magnetic structures on the Sun. The simulations include all essential physical processes, and are based of the LES (Large-Eddy Simulations) approach for describing the sub-grid scale turbulence. The simulation domain covers the top layer of the convection zone and the lower atmosphere. The results reveal a process of spontaneous formation of stable magnetic structures from an initially weak vertical magnetic field, uniformly distributed in the simulation domain. The process starts concentration of magnetic patches at the boundaries of granular cells, which are subsequently merged together into a stable large-scale structure by converging downdrafts below the surface. The resulting structure represents a compact concentration of strong magnetic field, reaching 6 kG in the interior. It has a cluster-like internal structurization, and is maintained by strong downdrafts extending into the deep layers.

The context is that of the so-called “fundamental ambiguity” (also azimuth ambiguity, or 180° ambiguity) in magnetic field vector measurements: two field vectors symmetrical with respect to the line-of-sight have the same polarimetric signature, so that they cannot be discriminated. We propose a method to solve this ambiguity by applying the “simulated annealing” algorithm to the minimization of the field divergence, added to the longitudinal current absolute value, the line-of-sight derivative of the magnetic field being inferred by the interpretation of the Zeeman effect observed by spectropolarimetry in two lines formed at different depths. We find that the line pair Fe I λ 6301.5 and Fe I λ 6302.5 is appropriate for this purpose. We treat the example case of the δ-spot of NOAA 10808 observed on 13 September 2005 between 14:25 and 15:25 UT with the THEMIS telescope. Besides the magnetic field resolved map, the electric current density vector map is also obtained. A strong horizontal current density flow is found surrounding each spot inside its penumbra, associated to a non-zero Lorentz force centripetal with respect to the spot center (i.e., oriented towards the spot center). The current wrapping direction is found to depend on the spot polarity: clockwise for the positive polarity, counterclockwise for the negative one. This analysis is made possible thanks to the UNNOFIT2 Milne-Eddington inversion code, where the usual theory is generalized to the case of a line (Fe I λ 6301.5) that is not a normal Zeeman triplet line (like Fe I λ 6302.5).

Systematic efforts of monitoring starspots from the middle of the XXth century, and the results obtained from the datasets, are summarized with special focus on the observations made by automated telescopes. Multicolour photometry shows correlations between colour indices and brightness, indicating spotted regions with different average temperatures originating from spots and faculae. Long-term monitoring of spotted stars reveals variability on different timescales.

On the rotational timescale new spot appearances and starspot proper motions are followed from continuous changes of light curves during subsequent rotations. Sudden interchange of the more and less active hemispheres on the stellar surfaces is the so called flip-flop phenomenon. The existence and strength of the differential rotation is seen from the rotational signals of spots being at different stellar latitudes.

Long datasets, with only short, annual interruptions, shed light on the nature of stellar activity cycles and multiple cycles. The systematic and/or random changes of the spot cycle lengths are discovered and described using various time-frequency analysis tools. Positions and sizes of spotted regions on stellar surfaces are calculated from photometric data by various softwares. From spot positions derived for decades, active longitudes on the stellar surfaces are found, which, in case of synchronized eclipsing binaries can be well positioned in the orbital frame, with respect to, and affected by, the companion stars.

We have undertaken an observational program to photometrically monitor several transiting planet host stars. The Rabus et al. result for TrES-1 showed the dramatic effects star spots can have on transit photometry. We will investigate the effects of spots on transit light curves and estimates of planetary radii. The observed spot patterns will be used to derive the rotational periods of our sample. Our sample includes several of the newly discovered transiting ESPs from the SuperWASP, HAT, TrES, and Kepler projects.

Using Hinode SP and G-band observations, we examined the relationship between magnetic field structure and penumbral length as well as Evershed flow speed. The latter two are positively correlated with magnetic inclination angle or horizontal field strength within 1.5 kilogauss, which is in agreement with recent magnetoconvective simulations of Evershed effect. This work thus provides direct observational evidence supporting the magnetoconvection nature of penumbral structure and Evershed flow in the presence of strong and inclined magnetic field.

Observations of sun-like stars rotating faster than our current sun tend to exhibit increased magnetic activity as well as magnetic cycles spanning multiple years. Using global simulations in spherical shells to study the coupling of large-scale convection, rotation, and magnetism in a younger sun, we have probed effects of rotation on stellar dynamos and the nature of magnetic cycles. Major 3-D MHD simulations carried out at three times the current solar rotation rate reveal hydromagnetic dynamo action that yields wreaths of strong toroidal magnetic field at low latitudes, often with opposite polarity in the two hemispheres. Our recent simulations have explored behavior in systems with considerably lower diffusivities, achieved with sub-grid scale models including a dynamic Smagorinsky treatment of unresolved turbulence. The lower diffusion promotes the generation of magnetic wreaths that undergo prominent temporal variations in field strength, exhibiting global magnetic cycles that involve polarity reversals. In our least diffusive simulation, we find that magnetic buoyancy coupled with advection by convective giant cells can lead to the rise of coherent loops of magnetic field toward the top of the simulated domain.

Microwave emissions from sunspots are circularly polarized in the sense of rotation (right or left) determined by the polarity (north or south) of coronal magnetic fields. However, they may convert into unpolarized emissions under certain conditions of magnetic field and electron density in the corona, and this phenomenon of depolarization could be used to derive those parameters. We propose another diagnostic use of microwave depolarization based on the fact that an observed depolarization strip actually represents the coronal magnetic polarity inversion line (PIL) at the heights of effective mode coupling, and its location itself carries information on the distribution of magnetic polarity in the corona. To demonstrate this diagnostic utility we generate a set of magnetic field models for a complex active region with the observed line-of-sight magnetic fields but varying current density distribution and compare them with the 4.9 GHz polarization map obtained with the Very Large Array (VLA). The field extrapolation predicts very different locations of the depolarization strip in the corona depending on the amount of electric currents assumed to exist in the photosphere. Such high sensitivity of microwave depolarization to the coronal magnetic field can therefore be useful for validating electric current density maps inferred from vector magnetic fields observed in the photosphere.