Sunspots and Giant-Cell Convection

From analysis of Doppler velocity images from SOHO/MDI, Hathaway et al (2000, Solar Phys., in press) have found clear evidence for giant convection cells that fill the solar surface, have diameters 3 - 10 times that typical of supergranules, and have lifetimes approx. greater than 10 days. Analogous to the superposition of the granular convection on the supergranular convection, the approx. 30,000 km diameter supergranules are superposed on these still larger giant cells. Because the giant cells make up the large-scale end of a continuous power spectrum that peaks at the size scale of supergranules, it appears that the giant cells are made by the same mode of convection as the supergranules. This suggests that the giant cells are similar to supergranules, just longer-lived, larger in diameter, and deeper. Here we point out that the range of lengths of large bipolar sunspot groups is similar to the size range of giant cells. This, along with the long lives (weeks) of large sunspots, suggests that large sunspots sit in long-lived, deep downflows at the corners of giant cells, and that the distance from leader to follower sunspots in large bipolar groups is the distance from one giant-cell corner to the next. By this line of reasoning, an unusually large and strong downdraft might pull in both legs of a rising spot-group magnetic flux loop, resulting in the formation of a delta sunspot. This leads us to suggest that a large, strong giant-cell corner downdraft should be present at the birthplaces of large delta sunspots for some time (days to weeks) before the birth. Thus, early detection of such downdrafts by local helioscismology might provide an early warning for the formation of those active regions (large delta sunspot groups) that produce the Sun's most violent flares and coronal mass ejections. This work is supported by NASA's Office of Space Science through the Solar Physics Branch of its Sun-Earth Connection Program.