Litvinenko, Yuri E.2011-08-102011-08-102011Litvinenko, Y.E. (2011). Regular versus diffusive photospheric flux cancellation. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 731:L39.https://hdl.handle.net/10289/5564Observations of photospheric flux cancellation on the Sun imply that cancellation can be a diffusive rather than regular process. A criterion is derived, which quantifies the parameter range in which diffusive photospheric cancellation should occur. Numerical estimates show that regular cancellation models should be expected to give a quantitatively accurate description of photospheric cancellation. The estimates rely on a recently suggested scaling for a turbulent magnetic diffusivity, which is consistent with the diffusivity measurements on spatial scales varying by almost two orders of magnitude. Application of the turbulent diffusivity to large-scale dispersal of the photospheric magnetic flux is discussed.application/pdfenThis article has been published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. © 2011 The American Astronomical Society.magnetic fieldsmagnetic reconnectionsun: photosphereJournal Article10.1088/2041-8205/731/2/L39