Emergence of small-scale magnetic flux in the quiet Sun

Context. We study the evolution of a small-scale emerging flux region (EFR) in the quiet Sun, from its emergence in the photosphere to its appearance in the corona and its decay. Aims. We track processes and phenomena that take place across all atmospheric layers; we explore their interrelations and compare our findings with those from recent numerical modelling studies. Methods. We used imaging as well as spectral and spectropolarimetric observations from a suite of space-borne and ground-based instruments. Results. The EFR appears in the quiet Sun next to the chromospheric network and shows all morphological characteristics predicted by numerical simulations. The total magnetic flux of the region exhibits distinct evolutionary phases, namely an initial subtle increase, a fast increase with a Co-temporal fast expansion of the region area, a more gradual increase, and a slow decay. During the initial stages, fine-scale G-band and Ca I