Probing the subsurface structures of active regions with ring-diagram analysis

Abstract

We analyze the variations in the near-surface profiles of sound speed and adiabatic constant between active regions and neighboring quiet-Sun areas using the technique of ring-diagram analysis and inversions of the frequency differences between the regions. This approach minimizes the systematic observational effects on the fitted spectral model parameters. The regions analyzed have been selected from a large sample of data available from both GONG and MDI and include a wide range of magnetic activity levels as measured in several respects. We find that the thermal-structure anomalies under active regions have a consistent depth profile, with only the magnitude of the effect varying with the intensity of the active regions. Both the sound speed and the first adiabatic index are depressed near the surface but enhanced at greater depths. The turnover for the sound speed occurs at a shallower depth than that for the adiabatic index. The amplitude of the thermal anomalies at all depths correlates more closely with the total magnetic flux of the active regions than with spot areas or flare activity levels. The depth of the turnover does not appear to depend on the strength of the region.