A low upper limit on the subsurface rise speed of solar active regions.

Magnetic field emerges at the surface of the Sun as sunspots and active regions. This process generates a poloidal magnetic field from a rising toroidal flux tube; it is a crucial but poorly understood aspect of the solar dynamo. The emergence of magnetic field is also important because it is a key driver of solar activity.

Numerical models of sunspot formation and fine structure.

Sunspots are central to our understanding of solar (and stellar) magnetism in many respects. On the large scale, they link the magnetic field observable in the photosphere to the dynamo processes operating in the solar interior. Properly interpreting the constraints that sunspots impose on the dynamo process requires a detailed understanding of the processes involved in their formation, dynamical evolution and decay.