Research report 2012 - Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research

Is convection in the solar interior slower than expected?

Authors
Birch, Aaron; Gizon, Laurent; Hanasoge, Shravan; Langfellner, Jan
Departments
Physik des Inneren der Sonne und sonnenähnlicher Sterne
Summary
Convection is the main mechanism for transporting energy from the base of the solar convection zone to the surface and is thought to be responsible for maintaining the observed global-scale flows of the Sun. Helioseismology, the use of solar oscillations to study the Sun’s interior, has been applied to observations from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory to obtain upper limits on the amplitudes of convective flows. These limits are in conflict with theoretical prediction and demand a rethinking of convection theory.

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