Speaker
Description
Vortices are ubiquitous in the turbulent upper solar atmosphere, driving energy, mass, and momentum transport from the photosphere through the chromosphere into the corona. Observational and numerical studies reveal a hierarchy of vortex structures, from small-scale swirls in intergranular lanes, through granular-scale vortex flows, to much larger “photospheric tornadoes” at mesogranular extents. While their essential characteristics—high local vorticity, swirling motion, boundedness, or persistence—remain consistent across scales, detection becomes increasingly challenging with varying resolution and spatial extent. Traditional techniques may require refinement when switching between intergranular, granular, and mesogranular regimes, and some methods are inefficient at certain scales due to a greater presence of shear and strain.
In this presentation, we focus on the Gamma method, a robust vortex detection approach, and explore how to adapt it for different resolutions and scales. These modifications prove vital for accurately identifying both intergranular and granular vortices, as well as larger mesogranular structures. By systematically adjusting the Gamma method, we achieve consistent, reliable vortex detections even under changing resolution, enabling direct comparisons of vortex properties across the solar surface. Our findings provide new insights into the statistical properties of photospheric vortices at different scales, community vortex dynamics, and highlight both similarities and differences in inter-community interactions within vortical networks at multiple scales.
