The solar causes of geomagnetic disturbances

Geomagnetic disturbances have been identified with respect to their sources for 1977–1983. The disturbance level was found using the daily planetary index A _p. High-amplitude ( 50), mean-amplitude (24) and low-amplitude ( 12) disturbances are caused by solar flares of importance 1, coronal holes, and filament cavities, respectively. The ranges of probable amplitudes of disturbances of different nature and their relative number are found from Poisson random distributions of amplitudes.     

The latitude of filament bands at the sunspot minimum and the activity level in the two following 11-year solar cycles

The zonal structure of the distribution of filaments is considered. The mean latitudes of two filament bands are calculated in each solar hemisphere at the minima of the sunspot cycle in the period 1924–1986: middle latitude _{2, m} and low latitude _{1, m} . It is shown that the mean latitude of the filament band _{2, m} at the minimum -m of the cycle correlates, with = 0.94, with the maximum - M sunspot area S(M) and maximum Wolf number W(M) in the succeeding solar cycle M. It is shown that the mean latitude of the low-latitude filament band _{1, m} is linearly dependent on the mean latitude filament band _{2, m + 1} at the succeeding minimum. We found a correlation of the latitude of the low-latitude filament band _{1, m} with the maximum sunspot area in the M + 1 cycle. This enables us to predict the power of two succeeding 11-year solar cycles on the basis of the latitude of filament bands at the minimum of activity, 1985–1986: W(22) - 205 ± 10, W(23) - 210 ± 10. The importance of the relationships found for theory and applied aspects is emphasized. An attempt is made to interpret the relationships physically.     

Longitude and latitude structure of the polar activity of the Sun in the 21st cycle

A catalog of observations of polar faculae by the Mountain Astronomical Station of the Pulkovo Observatory (Kislovodsk) for the 21st polar-activity cycle of the Sun (1972–1976) has been compiled. The mean annual and semiannual longitude distributions of the facular surface density have been constructed for latitude bands from 35 to 85° with steps of 10° in latitude and 30° in longitude in polar (the “wind roses”) and cylindrical projections, using a Bartels coordinate-grid rotation system. Coherent spatial structures in these distributions, which are characteristically elongated in two mutually perpendicular directions (i.e., they have an “X”-like appearance), can be identified. The high-latitude activity in the northern and southern hemispheres tends to be in spatial antiphase. This behavior corresponds to a four-sector global polar-activity structure. This indicates the presence of a magnetic-field source that is not associated with the differential rotation of the sun and modulates the evolution of local magnetic fields.     

The dipole-quadrupole cycle of the background solar magnetic field

The evolution of the background magnetic field with the solar cycle has been studied using the dipole-quadrupole magnetic energy behaviour in a cycle. The combined energy of the axisymmetric dipole, non-axisymmetric quadrupole, and equatorial dipole is relatively lowly variable over the solar cycle. The dipole field changed sign when the quadrupole field was near a maximum, andvice versa. A conceptual picture involving four meridional magnetic polarity sectors proposed to explain these features may be in agreement with equatorial coronal hole observations. The rate of sector rotation is estimated to be 8 heliographic degrees per year faster than the Carrington rotation (P = 27.23^d synodic). Polarity boundaries of sectors located 180° apart show meridional migrations in one direction, while the boundaries of the other two sectors move in the opposite direction. A simple model of how the magnetic field energy varies, subject to specifying reasonable initial photospheric magnetic and velocity field patterns, follows the observed evolution of the dipole and quadrupole field energies quite nicely.     

The Large-Scale Structures Of The Quiet-Sun Photosphere

The area density distribution of bright photospheric points on the quiet solar surface is not uniform. The distributions show some considerable pecularities. This article is a study of their characteristics during the four last solar activity minima in Bartels longitudes. The bright-photospheric-point distributions on the equatorial and polar solar surface exhibit a type of sectoral-hemispherical asymmetry. The density distributions vary a lot, but have the tendency to alternate with a period of 22 years. The phase origin of density concentrations is the first structural pecularity of the photospheric point distributions. The simultaneous appearance of bright regions on the equatorial and polar solar surface in spatial antiphase lock and, at the same time, the half-phase shift (11 years) between polar and equatorial cycles suggests a synchronous distribution process. This time synchronization is the second important pecularity of density concentrations. Therefore, the solar activity organization in minima occurs according to strict synchronization, like being under the control of a very precise clock.     

The sector structure of the active longitudes in solar cycles

The longitudinal distributions of the polar faculae, bright K Ca⁺ points, and sunspot areas have been investigated in three-year intervals at the minima and maxima of the last five solar cycles in the rotation system which corresponds to the background magnetic field:T = 27.23 days (Mikhailutsa, 1994b). It has been shown that there were three specific features of the polar faculae and bright K Ca⁺ point longitudinal distributions: (1) The longitudes of maxima and minima of the distributions were approximately the same in the last five solar cycles. (2) There were predominantly two opposite longitudinal maxima and two opposite longitudinal minima in the distributions of each hemisphere. (3) The distributions of the northern and southern hemispheres were in opposite phase. The extremes of the sunspot area longitudinal distributions were preferentially between the longitudes of the polar facular extremes. The period of the sector structure rotation was defined more precisely:T = 27.227 ± 0.003 days. The results found can serve as an indication that there is a global foursector structure seated in the solar interior which plays a visible role in the polar facular and sunspot distributions.     

The nature of sectorial-hemispheric asymmetry in the distribution of photospheric structures on the quiet Sun

The poorly studied, spatially coherent large-scale structures on the solar surface characterized by sectorial-hemispheric asymmetry may be produced by ultralow-frequency nonlinear oscillations of the Sun. This requires that (i) the wavevector of the oscillation be normal to the rotational axis of the Sun, (ii) the radial component of the wavevector be about a factor of five greater than the component tangential to the spherical surface, (iii) the Brunt-Väisälä frequency in the oscillation-trapping region correspond to a period of ≈22 yr, and (iv) the sectorial number of the spatially periodic component of the oscillation be equal to three (m=3).     

The large-scale build-up of solar magnetic cycles

The purpose of the present article is to analyze the solar cycles from the point of view of the large-scale surface magnetic field (LSMF) polarity distributions. Using synoptic charts of the LSMF for the 1870–1991 time interval at maxima and minima and the spherical harmonic analysis of the polarity distributions, a connection between magnetic cycles has been found. The weight of the large-scale sectoral mode (m = 1) in the common LSMF polarity distribution at minima of the sunspot cycle is the source of sunspot activity at maxima after 16–18 years. The connections found suggest that surface LSMFs have a dual nature - the main source below the convective zone and a secondary source (sunspot production). The sunspot production has no visible influence on the LSMF cycles.     

Stability of the photometric observations of the solar corona and variations of its intensity in the solar cycle 21

A comparison of the measurements of the intensity of the coronal line 5303 Å at the observations at Norikura, Kislovodsk and Lomnický tít is used to determine the stability of photometric systems and cancel the effect of its variations. The intensity variations of the solar corona during the 21st solar cycle are plotted. It is confirmed that the 11-year solar cycle consists of two maxima of activity; the first one is characterized by a simultaneous enhancement of activity at all latitudes and the second one shows up only in the equatorial zone.     

Global solar cycle in the distribution of the green coronal emission period: 1940–1989

We have studied the latitude-time distribution of the green (5303 Å) coronal line emission for 1940–1989 from observations by Waldmeier (1957), Kislovodsk, Lomnický tít, Norikura, and Pic-du-Midi - Q.B.S.A. (1955–1987). We have compared these data with the distributions of the weak magnetic field (Stenflo, 1988), of polar faculae and sunspots, and have given our interpretation of the results. We have found that a new cycle of coronal activity commences after the polar field reversal in the form of two components in each hemisphere. We identify the first component with the polar faculae that appear at latitude 40° and migrate polewards. The second component representing sunspots shows up at 40° latitude 5–6 years after and drifts equatorward. Thus the global coronal activity cycle has a duration of 16–17 years and is described by two components that reflect the activity of polar faculae and sunspots.