  We analyze two regions of the quiet Sun (35.6 x 35.6 Mm^2) observed at high
spatial resolution (~100 km) in polarized light by the IMaX spectropolarimeter
onboard the Sunrise balloon. We identify 497 small-scale (~400 km) magnetic
loops, appearing at an effective rate of 0.25 loop h^{-1} arcsec^{-2}; further,
we argue that this number and rate are underestimated by ~30%. However, we find
that these small dipoles do not appear uniformly on the solar surface: their
spatial distribution is rather filamentary and clumpy, creating dead calm
areas, characterized by a very low magnetic signal and a lack of organized
loop-like structures at the detection level of our instruments, that cannot be
explained as just statistical fluctuations of a Poisson spatial process. We
argue that this is an intrinsic characteristic of the mechanism that generates
the magnetic fields in the very quiet Sun. The spatio-temporal coherences and
the clumpy structure of the phenomenon suggest a recurrent, intermittent
mechanism for the generation of magnetic fields in the quietest areas of the
Sun.
