THE MAGNETIC LANDSCAPE OF THE SUN'S POLAR REGION

We present observations of the magnetic landscape of the polar region of the Sun that are unprecedented in terms of spatial resolution, field of view, and polarimetric precision. They were carried out with the Solar Optical Telescope aboard Hinode. Using a Milne-Eddington inversion, we find many vertically oriented magnetic flux tubes with field strengths as strong as 1 kG scattered in latitude between 70 degrees and 90 degrees. They all have the same polarity, consistent with the global polarity of the polar region. The field vectors are observed to diverge from the centers of the flux elements, consistent with a view of magnetic fields that are expanding and fanning out with height. The polar region is also found to have ubiquitous horizontal fields. The polar regions are the source of the fast solar wind, which is channeled along unipolar coronal magnetic fields whose photospheric source is evidently rooted in the strong-field, vertical patches of flux. We conjecture that vertical flux tubes with large expansion around the photospheric-coronal boundary serve as efficient chimneys for Alfven waves that accelerate the solar wind.