Rempel, M., Birch, A. C., & Braun, D. C. (2009). Numerical sunspot models - subsurface structure and helioseismic forward modeling (Invited) [presentation]. In AGU Fall Meeting 2009. American Geophysical Union: San Francisco, CA, US.
The magnetic and thermal subsurface structure of sunspots has been debated for decades. While local helioseismic inversions allow in principle to constrain the subsurface structure of sunspots, a full inversion is still not possible due to the complicated interaction between waves and magnetic fi... Show moreThe magnetic and thermal subsurface structure of sunspots has been debated for decades. While local helioseismic inversions allow in principle to constrain the subsurface structure of sunspots, a full inversion is still not possible due to the complicated interaction between waves and magnetic field. As an alternative it is possible to address this problem through forward modeling. Over the past few years numerical MHD models of entire sunspots including radiative transfer and a realistic equation of state have become possible. These simulations include p-modes excited by convection and the full interaction of these modes with the magnetic and thermal structure of the sunspot. In this talk I will present recent progress in MHD modeling of sunspots with special emphasis on the thermal and magnetic structure of numerical sunspot models. It turns out that modeled sunspots so far impose rather shallow perturbations to sound and fast mode speeds in the upper most 2 Mm. Nevertheless the seismic signatures are very similar to observed sunspots. Show less