Polarized radiation diagnostics of magnetohydrodynamic models of the solar atmosphere

Solar magnetic elements and their dynamical interaction with the convective surface layers of the Sun are numerically simulated. Radiation transfer in the photosphere is taken into account. A simulation run over 18.5 minutes real time shows that the granular flow is capable of moving and bending a magnetic flux sheet (the magnetic element). At times it becomes inclined by up to 30° with respect to the vertical around the level ₅₀₀₀ = 1 and it moves horizontally with a maximal velocity of 4 km/s. Shock waves form outside and within the magnetic flux sheet. The latter cause a distinctive signature in a time series of synthetic Stokes V-profiles. Such shock events occur with a mean frequency of about 2.5 minutes. A time resolution of at least 10 seconds in Stokes V recordings is needed to reveal an individual shock event by observation.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation