The stability of sunspots is one of the long-standing unsolved puzzles in the field of solar magnetism and the solar cycle. The thermal and magnetic structure of the sunspot beneath the solar surface is not accessible through observations, thus processes in these regions that contribute to the decay of sunspots can only be studied through theoretical and numerical studies.

On May 26, 2020, Dr. Andrei Gorobets very successfully defended his PhD thesis on the "Stochastic analysis of the quiet Sun magnetic field evolution" at Freiburg University. He was awarded a summa cum laude grade for his thesis.