Large-scale horizontal flows in the solar photosphere. V. Possible evidence for the disconnection of bipolar sunspot groups from their magnetic roots
2009
Abstract
Here we investigate the dynamic behaviour of the active regions recorded in the high-cadence MDI data over the last solar cycle in order to confirm the predictions in the Schüssler's & Rempel's paper. We find that, after drastic reduction of the sample, which is done to avoid disturbing effects, a large fraction of active regions displays a sudden decrease in the rotation speed, which is compatible with the mechanism of the dynamic disconnection of sunspots from their parental magnetic structures.