Related papers: Modeling a Maunder Minimum
The rise and fall in the number of sunspots have served as a lynchpin in many investigations on solar dynamics. Arising from magnetic disturbances in the sun, variations in sunspot numbers have helped define a solar cycle of around eleven…
We investigate dynamo action in three-dimensional numerical simulations of turbulent spherical Couette flows. Close to the onset of dynamo action, the magnetic field exhibits an intermittent behavior, characterized by a series of short…
The magnetic field measured in the Madison Dynamo Experiment shows intermittent periods of growth when an axial magnetic field is applied. The geometry of the intermittent field is consistent with the fastest growing magnetic eigenmode…
We explore the cause of the solar cycle variabilities using a novel 3D Babcock--Leighton dynamo model. In this model, based on the toroidal flux at the base of the convection zone, bipolar magnetic regions (BMRs) are produced with…
The Sun's magnetic dynamo cycle features a distinct pattern: a propagating region of sunspot emergence appears around 30 degrees latitude and vanishes near the equator every 11 years. Moreover, longitudinal flows called "torsional…
Recent advances in mean-field theory are reviewed and applications to the Sun, late-type stars, accretion disks, galaxies, and the early Universe are discussed. We focus particularly on aspects of spatio-temporal nonlocality, which is one…
Using a reconstruction of sunspot numbers stretching over multiple millennia, we analyze the statistics of the occurrence of grand minima and maxima and set new observational constraints on long-term solar and stellar dynamo models. We…
At the heart of today's solar magnetic field evolution models lies the alpha dynamo description. In this work, we investigate the fate of alpha-dynamos as the magnetic Reynolds number $Rm$ is increased. Using Floquet theory, we are able to…
Long-term records of sunspot number and concentrations of cosmogenic radionuclides (10Be and 14C) on the Earth reveal the variation of the Sun's magnetic activity over hundreds and thousands of years. We identify several clear periods in…
Dynamo models relying on the Babcock-Leighton mechanism are successful in reproducing most of the solar magnetic field dynamical characteristics. However, considering that such models operate only above a lower magnetic field threshold,…
We explore the impact of magnetic helicity conservation on the mean-field solar dynamo using the axisymmetric dynamo model which includes the subsurface shear. Our results support the recent findings by Hubbard & Brandenburg (2012), who…
The anisotropy of magnetophydrodynamic turbulence is investigated by using solar wind data from the Helios 2 spacecraft. We investigate the behaviour of the complete high-order moment tensors of magnetic field increments and we compare the…
Some selected concepts for the solar activity cycle are briefly reviewed. Cycle modulations through a stochastic alpha effect are being identified with limited scale separation ratios. Three-dimensional turbulence simulations with helicity…
The evolution of the solar activity comprises, apart from the well-known 11-year cycle, various temporal scales ranging from months up to the secondary cycles known as mid-term oscillations. Its nature deserves a physical explanation. In…
The total solar irradiance (TSI) varies on timescales of minute to centuries. On short timescales it varies due to the superposition of intensity fluctuations produced by turbulent convection and acoustic oscillations. On longer scale…
The presence of magnetic fields in many astrophysical objects is due to dynamo action, whereby a part of the kinetic energy is converted into magnetic energy. A turbulent dynamo that produces magnetic field structures on the same scale as…
By using the unique database of SOHO/MDI full disk magnetograms from 1996 September to 2011 January, covering the entire solar cycle 23, we analyze the time-variability of the solar magnetic flux spectrum and study the properties of…
Mean-field dynamo theory has important applications in solar physics and galactic magnetism. We discuss some of the many turbulence effects relevant to the generation of large-scale magnetic fields in the solar convection zone. The…
The recent solar minimum and rise phase of solar cycle 24 have been unlike any period since the early 1900s. This article examines some of the properties of sunspot umbrae over the last 17 years with three different instruments on the…
The degree of intermittency of the magnetic field of a large-scale dynamo is considered. Based on simulations it is argued that there is a tendency for the field to become more diffuse and non-intermittent as the dynamo saturates. The…