  Aims: to investigate the evolution of plasma properties and Stokes parameters
in photospheric magnetic bright points using 3D magneto-hydrodynamical
simulations and radiative diagnostics of solar granulation. Methods: simulated
time-dependent radiation parameters and plasma properties were investigated
throughout the evolution of a bright point. Synthetic Stokes profiles for the
FeI 630.25 nm line were calculated, which allowed the evolution of the Stokes-I
line strength and Stokes-V area and amplitude asymmetries to also be
investigated. Results: our results are consistent with theoretical predictions
and published observations describing convective collapse, and confirm this as
the bright point formation process. Through degradation of the simulated data
to match the spatial resolution of SOT, we show that high spatial resolution is
crucial for the detection of changing spectro-polarimetric signatures
throughout a magnetic bright point's lifetime. We also show that the signature
downflow associated with the convective collapse process is reduced towards
zero as the radiation intensity in the bright point peaks, due to the magnetic
forces present restricting the flow of material in the flux tube.
