Large-scale horizontal flows in the solar photosphere. V. Possible evidence for the disconnection of bipolar sunspot groups from their magnetic roots

In a recent paper (Švanda et al. 2008, A&A, 477, 285) we pointed out that, based on the tracking of Doppler features in the full-disc MDI Dopplergrams, the active regions display two dynamically different regimes. We speculated that this could be a manifestation of the sudden change in the active regions dynamics, caused by the dynamic disconnection of sunspots from their magnetic roots as proposed by Schüssler & Rempel (2005, A&A, 441, 337). Here we investigate the dynamic behaviour of the active regions recorded in the high-cadence MDI data over the last solar cycle in order to confirm the predictions in the Schüssler's & Rempel's paper. We find that, after drastic reduction of the sample, which is done to avoid disturbing effects, a large fraction of active regions displays a sudden decrease in the rotation speed, which is compatible with the mechanism of the dynamic disconnection of sunspots from their parental magnetic structures.