Intermittency in the photosphere and corona above an active region

Recent studies have demonstrated without doubt that the magnetic field in the photosphere and corona is an intermittent structure, opening new views of the underlying physics. In particular, such problems as the existence in the corona of localized areas with extremely strong resistivity (required to explain magnetic reconnection at all scales) and the interchange between small and large scales (required in the study of photospheric-coronal coupling), to name a few, can be easily captured by the concept of intermittency. This study focuses on simultaneous time variations of intermittency properties derived in the photosphere, chromosphere, and corona. We analyze data for NOAA Active Region 10930 acquired between 2006 December 8, 12: 00 UT, and December 13, 18: 45 UT. Photospheric intermittency is inferred from Hinode magnetic field measurements, while intermittency in the transition region and corona is derived from Nobeyama 9 GHz radio polarization measurements and high-cadence Hinode XRT (thin-Be) data, as well as GOES 1-8 angstrom flux. The photospheric dynamics and its possible relationship with the intermittency variations are also analyzed by calculating the kinetic vorticity. In this case study, we find the following chain of events: The intermittency of the photospheric magnetic field peaked after the specific kinetic vorticity of plasma flows in the active region reached its maximum (4 hr time delay). In turn, a gradual increase of coronal intermittency occurred after the peak of the photospheric intermittency. The time delay between the peak of photospheric intermittency and the occurrence of the first strong (X3.4) flare was approximately 1.3 days. Our analysis seems to suggest that the enhancement of intermittency/complexity first occurs in the photosphere and is later transported toward the corona.