Magnetic Solitons: Unified Mechanism for Moving Magnetic Features

Abstract

In a highly dynamic environment with sources and sinks of energy, flux tubes do not in general obey local conservation laws, nor do the ensembles of flux tubes that exhibit collective phenomena. We use the approach of energetically open dissipative systems to study nonlinear waves in flux tubes and their role in the dynamics of the overlying atmosphere. We present results of theoretical and observational studies of the properties of moving magnetic features (MMFs) around sunspots and the response of the overlying atmosphere to various types of MMFs. We show that all types of MMFs, often having conflicting properties, can be described on a unified basis by employing the model of shocks and solitons propagating along the penumbral filaments co-aligned with Evershed flows. The model is also consistent with the response of the upper atmosphere to individual MMFs, which depends on their type. For example, soliton-type bipolar MMFs mainly participate in the formation of a moat and do not carry much energy into the upper atmosphere, whereas shock-like MMFs, with the appearance of single-polarity features, are often associated with chromospheric jets and microflares.