AN AMBIGUITY-FREE DETERMINATION OF J(Z) IN SOLAR ACTIVE REGIONS

We propose a way to derive a radial electric current density from vect or magnetograms that is free of any particular choice of the two possi ble azimuths for the plane of the sky field. The method is applied to active region data obtained with the Advanced Stokes Polarimeter (ASP) . A comparison of this current density with that derived for two parti cular sets of possible azimuth assignments allows one to evaluate the appropriateness of each set. In addition one may verify the detection of currents in general and the occurrence of current sheets, i.e. held discontinuities, in particular.