Table Of ContentThis page intentionally left blank
SUNSPOTS AND STARSPOTS
Thepasttwodecadeshaveseenremarkableadvancesinobservationsofsunspotsandtheirmag-
neticfields,inimagingofspotsandfieldsondistantstars,andinassociatedtheoreticalmodels
andnumericalsimulations.
Thisvolumeprovidesthefirstcomprehensivecombinedaccountofthepropertiesofsunspots
and starspots. It covers both observations and theory, and describes the intricate fine structure
of a sunspot’s magnetic field and the prevalence of polar spots on stars. The book includes a
substantialhistoricalintroductionandtreatssolarandstellarmagneticactivity,dynamomodelsof
magneticcycles,andtheinfluenceofsolarvariabilityontheEarth’smagnetosphereandclimate.
This book conveys the excitement of its subject to graduate students and specialists in solar
andstellarphysics,andmorebroadlytoastronomers,geophysicists,spacephysicistsandexperts
influiddynamicsandplasmaphysics.
JOHN H.THOMAS isProfessorofMechanicalandAerospaceSciences,andAstronomy,at
theUniversityofRochester.HehasbeentheChairoftheSolarPhysicsDivisionoftheAmerican
AstronomicalSociety,andwasaScientificEditoroftheAstrophysicalJournalfortenyears.
NIGEL O.WEISS is Emeritus Professor of Mathematical Astrophysics at the University
ofCambridge.HeisaformerPresidentoftheRoyalAstronomicalSociety,whichawardedhim
aGoldMedalin2007.
CambridgeAstrophysicsSeries
Serieseditors
AndrewKing,DouglasLin,StephenMaran,JimPringleandMartinWard
Titlesavailableinthisseries
10. QuasarAstronomy
byD.W.Weedman
18. PlasmaLoopsintheSolarCorona
byR.J.Bray,L.E.Cram,C.DurrantandR.E.Loughhead
19. BeamsandJetsinAstrophysics
editedbyP.A.Hughes
22. Gamma-rayAstronomy2ndEdition
byP.V.RamanaMurthyandA.W.Wolfendale
24. SolarandStellarActivityCycles
byPeterR.Wilson
25. 3K:TheCosmicMicrowaveBackgroundRadiation
byR.B.Partridge
26. X-rayBinaries
editedbyWalterH.G.Lewin,JanvanParadijsandEdwardP.J.vandenHeuvel
27. RRLyraeStars
byHoraceA.Smith
28. CataclysmicVariableStars
byBrianWarner
29. TheMagellanicClouds
byBengtE.Westerlund
30. GlobularClusterSystems
byKeithM.AshmanandStephenE.Zepf
32. AccretionProcessesinStarFormation
byLeeHartmann
33. TheOriginandEvolutionofPlanetaryNebulae
bySunKwok
34. SolarandStellarMagneticActivity
byCarolusJ.SchrijverandCorneliusZwaan
35. TheGalaxiesoftheLocalGroup
bySidneyvandenBergh
36. StellarRotation
byJean-LouisTassoul
37. ExtremeUltravioletAstronomy
byMartinA.BarstowandJayB.Holberg
38. PulsarAstronomy3rdEdition
byAndrewG.LyneandFrancisGraham-Smith
39. CompactStellarX-raySources
editedbyWalterLewinandMichielvanderKlis
40. EvolutionaryProcessesinBinaryandMultipleStars
byPeterEggleton
41. ThePhysicsoftheCosmicMicrowaveBackground
byPavelD.Naselsky,DmitryI.NovikovandIgorD.Novikov
42. MolecularCollisionsintheInterstellarMedium2ndEdition
byDavidFlower
43. ClassicalNovae2ndEdition
editedbyMichaelBodeandAneurinEvans
44. UltravioletandX-raySpectroscopyoftheSolarAtmosphere
byKennethJ.H.Phillips,UriFeldmanandEnricoLandi
45. FromLuminousHotStarstoStarburstGalaxies
byPeterS.Conti,PaulCrowtherandClausLeitherer
46. SunspotsandStarspots
byJohnH.ThomasandNigelO.Weiss
High-resolution image of a sunspot, showing the dark umbra enclosed by a filamentary
penumbra, as well as tiny bright points in the surrounding granulation. This image was
obtained in the continuum near 436 nm with the Swedish Solar Telescope on La Palma.
(CourtesyofL.H.M.RouppevanderVoortandtheRoyalSwedishAcademyofSciences.)
SUNSPOTS AND STARSPOTS
JOHN H. THOMAS
DepartmentofMechanicalEngineeringandDepartmentofPhysics
andAstronomy,UniversityofRochester,USA
NIGEL O. WEISS
DepartmentofAppliedMathematicsandTheoreticalPhysics,
UniversityofCambridge,UK
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521860031
©J. H. Thomas and N. O. Weiss 2008
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the
provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part
may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2008
ISBN-13 978-0-511-45562-9 eBook (EBL)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-86003-1 hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy
of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
ToLoisandJudy
