Sunspots

K. S. Balasubramania

Sunspots are the the most visible structures on the solar surface. Their strong magnetic fields posture them as a prime tracer of solar activity. Understanding their intricate magnetohydrodynamic structure is a significant challenge and an opportunity to understand the nature of stars and magnetic fields in the universe.

In this talk, I will describe the current state-of-research on sunspots. I will present and postulate research areas that involve high resolution spectroscopy, spectropolarimetry and imaging, in an effort to understand the structure and dynamics of sunspots. I will cover areas such as hydrodynamic motions, wave structure, and models of sunspots.