AlfvEn Waves and Meyer's Sunspot Model

The recent account of the growth and decay of a sunspot by Meyer, Schmidt, Weiss & Wilson is compared with models exhibiting a large emission of Alfvén flux. It is shown that a composite model which involves both modified convection and Alfvén waves within the sub-surface flux rope can overcome some of the difficulties faced by either type of model independently. It is shown that interactions between convective motions and the flux tubes may give rise to twists in these tubes. The significance of these twists in relation to the decay of the spot magnetic field and the appearance of the moving magnetic features in the moat is discussed. An approximate distribution of the radiative, convective and hydromagnetic energy flux in the neighbourhood of a stable l-spot is suggested on the basis of the composite model.