The effect of abnormal granulation on acoustic wave travel times and mode frequencies

Observations indicate that in plage areas (i.e. in active regions outside sunspots) acoustic waves travel faster than in the quiet Sun, leading to shortened travel times and higher p-mode frequencies. Coupled with the 11-year variation of solar activity, this may also explain the solar cycle variation of oscillation frequencies. While it is clear that the ultimate cause of any difference between the quiet Sun and plage is the presence of magnetic fields of order 100 G in the latter, the mechanism by which the magnetic field exerts its influence has not yet been conclusively identified. One possible such mechanism is suggested by the observation that granular motions in plage areas tend to be slightly "abnormal", dampened compared to the quiet Sun. In this paper we consider the effect that abnormal granulation observed in active regions should have on the propagation of acoustic waves. Any such effect is found to be limited to a shallow surface layer where sound waves propagate nearly vertically. The magnetically suppressed turbulence implies higher sound speeds, leading to shorter travel times. This time shift Delta tau is independent of the travel distance, while it shows a characteristic dependence on the assumed plage field strength. As a consequence of the variation of the acoustic cutoff with height, Delta tau is expected to be significantly higher for higher frequency waves within the observed regime of 3 - 5 mHz. The lower group velocity near the upper reflection point further leads to an increased envelope time shift, as compared to the phase shift. p-mode frequencies in plage areas are increased by a corresponding amount, Delta nu/nu = nu Delta tau. These characteristics of the time and frequency shifts are in accordance with observations. The calculated overall amplitudes of the time and frequency shifts are comparable to, but still significantly less than ( by a factor of 2 to 5), those suggested by measurements