simple “cylindrical” pressure balance at the
s = 1 level, while at heights of a few hundreds of kilometers above the photosphere, the magnetic field tends toward a potential distribution. This theoretical model is compared in
detail with the most recent and complete empirical models for sunspots of various sizes and temperatures. The
good agreement between the models strongly indicates that the basic ideas and features of the theoretical model
(the law of similarity at the spot center, a thin boundary layer, screening of the spot magnetic force tube, etc.)
correctly reflect the physical properties of sunspots.