Chromospheric signatures of small-scale flux emergence as observed with NST and Hinode instruments

With the ever increasing influx of high resolution images of the solar surface obtained at a multitude of wavelengths, various processes occurring at small spatial scales have become a greater focus of our attention. Complex small-scale magnetic fields have been reported that appear to have enough stored to heat the chromosphere. While significant progress has been made in understanding small-scale phenomena, many specifics remain elusive. We present here a detailed study of a single event of cancellation and associated chromospheric activity. Based on New Solar Telescope Hα data and Hinode photospheric line-of-sight magnetograms and Ca II H images we report the following. 1) Careful consideration of the magnetic environment at the cancellation site sharpened our understanding of the details of magnetic cancellation. We argue that the apparent collision and disappearance of two opposite polarity elements may not always indicate their mutual cancellation. 2) Our analysis indicates that even very small dipoles (elements separated by about 0′′.5 or less) may reach the chromosphere and trigger via non-negligible chromospheric activity. 3) Bright points seen in off-band Hα images are very well-correlated with the Ca II H bright points, which in turn are co-spatial with G-band bright points. We further speculate that, in general, Hα bright points are expected be co-spatial with photospheric BPs, however, a direct comparison is needed to refine their relationship. 1