Paper detail

The small-scale solar surface dynamo

The existence of a turbulent small-scale solar surface dynamo is likely, considering existing numerical and laboratory experiments, as well as comparisons of a small-scale dynamo in MURaM simulations with Hinode observations. We find the observed peaked probability distribution function (PDF) from Stokes-V magnetograms is consistent with a monotonic PDF of the actual vertical field strength. The cancellation function of the vertical flux density from a Hinode SP observation is found to follow a self-similar power law over two decades in length scales down to the ~200 km resolution limit. This provides observational evidence that the scales of magnetic structuring in the photosphere extend at least down to 20 km. From the power law, we determine a lower bound for the true quiet-Sun mean vertical unsigned flux density of ~43 G, consistent with our numerically-based estimates that 80% or more of the vertical unsigned flux should be invisible to Stokes-V observations at a resolution of 200 km owing to cancellation. Our estimates significantly reduce the order-of-magnitude discrepancy between Zeeman- and Hanle-based estimates.