Comparison of Polar and Equatorial Magnetic Fields Near Sunspot Minimum

We investigate the polar magnetic fields near sunspot minimum using high-resolution videomagnetograph data from Big Bear Solar Observatory. To avoid the problem of center-to-limb variation of the projected longitudinal field, we compare polar with equatorial field strengths for the same limb distance. Polar fields are stronger than the quiet equatorial field, but no greater than equatorial limb data containing unipolar regions. The difference is entirely in the stronger field elements. The polar background fields are of mixed polarity but show a net weak field opposite in sign to that of the stronger polar elements. We believe this to be the first evidence of widespread background field. No dependence of the measured signal on the B-angle was found, so the high-latitude fields do not change strength near the pole. Further, there was no significant change in the polar fields in the 15-month period studied. We tried to derive a high-latitude rotation rate; our data show motion of high-latitude magnetic elements, but the diurnal trajectory is not much bigger than random motions and field changes, so the result is inconclusive. We suggest that the polar fields represent the accumulation of sunspot remnants, the elements of which last for years in the absence of other fields.