  We investigate the emergence of magnetic flux in the quiet Sun at very small
spatial scales, focusing on the magnetic connection between the photosphere and
chromosphere. The observational data consist of spectropolarimetric
measurements and filtergrams taken with the Hinode satellite and the Dutch Open
Telescope. We find that a significant fraction of the magnetic flux present in
internetwork regions appears in the form of Omega-shaped loops. The emergence
rate is 0.02 loops per hour and arcsec^{-2}, which brings 1.1 x 10^12 Mx s^{-1}
arcsec^{-2} of new flux to the solar surface. Initially, the loops are observed
as small patches of linear polarization above a granular cell. Shortly
afterwards, two footpoints of opposite polarity become visible in circular
polarization within or at the edges of the granule and start to move toward the
adjacent intergranular space. The orientation of the footpoints does not seem
to obey Hale's polarity rules. The loops are continuously buffeted by
convective motions, but they always retain a high degree of coherence.
Interestingly, 23% of the loops that emerge in the photosphere reach the
chromosphere (16 cases out of 69). They are first detected in Fe I 630 nm
magnetograms and 5 minutes later in Mg I b 517.3 nm magnetograms. After about 8
minutes, some of them are also observed in Ca II H line-core images, where the
footpoints produce small brightness enhancements.
