Related papers: The Sun's Shallow Meridional Circulation
The Sun is a non-equilibrium dissipative system subjected to an energy flow which originates in its core. Convective overshooting motions create temperature and velocity structures which show a temporal and spatial evolution. As a result,…
In 1844 Schwabe discovered that the number of sunspots increased and decreased over a period of about 11 years, that variation became known as the sunspot cycle. Almost eighty years later, Hale described the nature of the Sun's magnetic…
Young solar-type stars rotate rapidly and many are magnetically active; some undergo magnetic cycles similar to the 22-year solar activity cycle. We conduct simulations of dynamo action in rapidly rotating suns with the 3D MHD anelastic…
Available helioseismic data now span almost the entire solar activity cycle 23 making it possible to study solar-cycle related changes of the solar rotation rate in detail. In this paper we study how the solar rotation rate, in particular,…
Despite investments in multiple space and ground-based solar observatories by the global community, the Sun's polar regions remain unchartered territory - the last great frontier for solar observations. Breaching this frontier is…
The subsurface meridional flow has long been recognized as a critical factor in driving the solar cycle. Specifically, the equatorward return flow in the tachocline is widely believed to be responsible for the formation of the sunspot…
The magnetic cycle of the Sun, as manifested in the cyclic appearance of sunspots, significantly influences our space environment and space-based technologies by generating what is now termed as space weather. Long-term variation in the…
Meridional circulation is an important ingredient in flux transport dynamo models. We have studied its importance on the period, the amplitude of the solar cycle, and also in producing Maunder-like grand minima in these models. First, we…
We present results of convective turbulent dynamo simulations including a coronal layer in a spherical wedge. We find an equatorward migration of the radial and azimuthal fields similar to the behavior of sunspots during the solar cycle.…
Turbulent convection efficiently transports energy up to the solar photosphere, but its multi-scale nature and dynamic properties are still not fully understood. Several works in the literature have investigated the emergence of patterns of…
We report on new spectro-polarimetric measurements with simultaneous filter imaging observation, revealing the frequent appearance of polarization signals indicating high-speed, probably supersonic, downflows that are associated with at…
We present a three-dimensional numerical model for the generation and evolution of the magnetic field in the solar convection zone, in which sunspots are produced and contribute to the cyclic reversal of the large-scale magnetic field. We…
The Sun, aside from its eleven year sunspot cycle is additionally subject to long term variation in its activity. In this work we analyse a solar-like convective dynamo simulation, containing approximately 60 magnetic cycles, exhibiting…
Over the past century, the Sun's activity -- which exhibits significant variations -- went through a phase known as the Modern Maximum. Notably, the strongest sunspot cycle on record during this period, and indeed since direct sunspot…
Simple models of magnetic field generation by convection in rotating spherical shells exhibit properties resembling those observed on the sun. The {assumption of the Boussinesq approximation made in these models} prevents a realistic…
We live near a magnetic star whose cycles of activity are driven by dynamo action beneath the surface. In the solar convection zone, rotation couples with plasma motions to build highly organized magnetic fields that erupt at the surface…
A striking feature of the solar cycle is that at the beginning, sunspots appear around mid-latitudes, and over time the latitudes of emergences migrate towards the equator. The maximum level of activity varies from cycle to cycle. For…
The Sun provides the energy necessary to sustain our existence. While the Sun provides for us, it is also capable of taking away. The weather and climatic scales of solar evolution and the Sun-Earth connection are not well understood. There…
The variable magnetic field of the solar photosphere exhibits periodic reversals as a result of dynamo activity occurring within the solar interior. We decompose the surface field as observed by both the Wilcox Solar Observatory and the…
The level of solar magnetic activity, as exemplified by the number of sunspots and by energetic events in the corona, varies on a wide range of time scales. Most prominent is the 11-year solar cycle, which is significantly modulated on…