The role of convection during magnetic active region emergence on the Sun

The Sun’s magnetic field is generated somewhere in the interior and emerges onto the surface. Understanding which flows in the Sun are responsible for the generation of these magnetically active regions will constrain the location of the solar dynamo in the interior. The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager onboard NASA's space-based Solar Dynamics Observatory mission has been instrumental in enabling helioseismic investigations of the observed flows associated with emerging active regions. Recent observational results point to convection playing an important role in active region formation, and that all active regions are associated with a converging flow in the day preceding emergence. Coupled with sophisticated numerical simulations, the interpretation of the observations is challenging the prevailing idea that magnetically active regions on the surface of the Sun have their origins in a deep seated solar dynamo mechanism.