Acoustic Mode Frequencies of the Sun During the Minimum Phase Between Solar Cycles 23 and 24

We investigate the spatial and temporal variations of the high-degree mode frequencies calculated over localized regions of the Sun during the extended minimum phase between solar cycles 23 and 24. The frequency shifts measured relative to the spatial average over the solar disk indicate that the correlation between the frequency shift and magnetic field strength during the low-activity phase is weak. The disk-averaged frequency shifts computed relative to a minimal activity period also reveal a moderate correlation with different activity indices, with a maximum linear correlation of about 72?%. From the investigation of the frequency shifts at different latitudinal bands, we do not find a consensus period for the onset of solar cycle 24. The frequency shifts corresponding to most of the latitudes in the northern hemisphere and 30° south of the equator indicate the minimum epoch to be February 2008, which is earlier than inferred from solar activity indices.     

Comparison of Helicity Signs in Interplanetary CMEs and Their Solar Source Regions

If all coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have flux ropes, then the CMEs should keep their helicity signs from the Sun to the Earth according to the helicity conservation principle. This study presents an attempt to answer the question from the Coordinated Data Analysis Workshop (CDAW), “Do all CMEs have flux ropes?”, by using a qualitative helicity sign comparison between interplanetary CMEs (ICMEs) and their CME source regions. For this, we select 34 CME–ICME pairs whose source active regions (ARs) have continuous SOHO/MDI magnetogram data covering more than 24 hr without data gap during the passage of the ARs near the solar disk center. The helicity signs in the ARs are determined by estimation of cumulative magnetic helicity injected through the photosphere in the entire source ARs. The helicity signs in the ICMEs are estimated by applying the cylinder model developed by Marubashi (Adv. Space. Res., 26, 55, 2000) to 16 second resolution magnetic field data from the MAG instrument onboard the ACE spacecraft. It is found that 30 out of 34 events (88 %) are helicity sign-consistent events, while four events (12 %) are sign-inconsistent. Through a detailed investigation of the source ARs of the four sign-inconsistent events, we find that those events can be explained by the local helicity sign opposite to that of the entire AR helicity (28 July 2000 ICME), incorrectly reported solar source region in the CDAW list (20 May 2005 ICME), or the helicity sign of the pre-existing coronal magnetic field (13 October 2000 and 20 November 2003 ICMEs). We conclude that the helicity signs of the ICMEs are quite consistent with those of the injected helicities in the AR regions from where the CMEs erupted.     

Understanding the Behavior of the Heliospheric Magnetic Field and the Solar Wind During the Unusual Solar Minimum Between Cycles 23 and 24

The properties of the heliospheric magnetic field and the solar wind were substantially different in the unusual solar minimum between Cycles 23 and 24: the magnetic-field strength was substantially reduced, as were the flow properties of the solar wind, such as the mass flux. Explanations for these changes are offered that do not require any substantial reconsideration of the general understandings of the behavior of the heliospheric magnetic field and the solar wind that were developed in the minimum of Cycle 22?–?23. Solar-wind composition data are used to demonstrate that there are two distinct regions of solar wind: solar wind likely to originate from the stalk of the streamer belt (the highly elongated loops that underlie the heliospheric current sheet), and solar wind from outside this region. The region outside the streamer-stalk region is noticeably larger in the minimum of Cycle 23?–?24; however, the increased area can account for the reduction in the heliospheric magnetic-field strength in this minimum. Thus, the total magnetic flux contained in this region is the same in the two minima. Various correlations among the solar-wind mass flux and coronal electron temperature inferred from solar-wind charge states were developed for the Cycle 22?–?23 solar minimum. The data for the minimum of Cycle 23?–?24 suggest that the correlations still hold, and thus the basic acceleration mechanism is unchanged in this minimum.     

A Helioseismic Perspective on the Depth of the Minimum Between Solar Cycles 23 and 24

The minimum in the solar-activity cycle observed between Cycles 23 and 24 is generally regarded as being unusually deep and long. This minimum is being followed by a cycle with one of the smallest amplitudes in recent history. We perform an in-depth analysis of this minimum with helioseismology. We use Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) data to demonstrate that the frequencies of helioseismic oscillations are a sensitive probe of the Sun’s magnetic field: The frequencies of the helioseismic oscillations were found to be systematically lower in the minimum following Cycle 23 than in the minimum preceding it. This difference is statistically significant and may indicate that the Sun’s global magnetic field was weaker in the minimum following Cycle 23. The size of the shift in oscillation frequencies between the two minima is dependent on the frequency of the oscillation and takes the same functional form as the frequency dependence observed when the frequencies at cycle maximum are compared with the cycle-minimum frequencies. This implies that the same near-surface magnetic perturbation is responsible. Finally, we determine that the difference in the mean magnetic field between the minimum preceding Cycle 23 and that following it is approximately 1 G.     

Sign-Singularity of the Current Helicity in Solar Active Regions

On the basis of vector magnetograms of 20 active regions we analyzed the scaling behavior of the current helicity H_c in the photosphere. We show that H_c possesses well pronounced sign-singularity in the range of scales from more than 10⁴ km up to the resolution limit of observations.     

Plasma and Magnetic Fields in the Heliosphere at the Growth Phase of Solar Cycle 23: Comparison with Previous Cycles

The average values of the parameters of the solar wind and the interplanetary magnetic field at the Earth's orbit are calculated by using the results of direct measurements performed in the current and three previous solar cycles. Individual and general features of each cycle are analyzed by the method of superposition of epochs and hysteresis curves. The similarity in trends of solar cycles 23 and 20 at their growth phase is revealed. This gives additional reason to expect that the current solar cycle as a whole will be weaker than the two previous cycles.     

Three Super Active Regions in the Descending Phase of Solar Cycle 23

We analyze the magnetic configurations of three super active regions, NOAA 10484, 10486 and 10488, observed by the Huairou Multi-Channel Solar Telescope (MCST) from 2003 October 18 to November 4. Many energetic phenomena, such as flares (including a X-28 flare) and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), occurred during this period. We think that strong shear and fast emergence of magnetic flux are the main causes of these events. The question is also of great interest why these dramatic eruptions occurred so close together in the descending phase of the solar cycle.     

Polarity Reversal Time of the Magnetic Dipole Component of the Sun in Solar Cycle 24

The Sun’s general magnetic field has shown polarity reversal three times during the last three solar cycles. We attempt to estimate the upcoming polarity reversal time of the solar magnetic dipole by using the coronal field model and synoptic data of the photospheric magnetic field. The scalar magnetic potential of the coronal magnetic field is expanded into a spherical harmonic series. The long-term variations of the dipole component ( $g^{0}_{1}$ ) calculated from the data of National Solar Observatory/Kitt Peak and Wilcox Solar Observatory are compared with each other. It is found that the two $g^{0}_{1}$ values show a similar tendency and an approximately linear increase between the Carrington rotation periods CR 2070 and CR 2118. The next polarity reversal is estimated by linear extrapolation to be between CR 2132.2 (December 2012) and CR2134.8 (March 2013).     

Variation in the Flaring Potential of Different Sunspot Groups During Different Phases of Solar Cycles 23 and 24

In this present study,we have analyzed different types of X-ray solar flares(C,M,and X classes) coming out from different classes of sunspot groups(SSGs).The data which we have taken under this study cover the duration of 24 yr from 1996 to 2019.During this,we observed a total of 15015 flares(8417 in SC-23 and 6598 in SC-24)emitted from a total of 33780 active regions(21746 in SC-23 and 12034 in SC-24) with sunspot only.We defined the flaring potential or flare-production potential as the ratio ...     

Effects of Hysteresis Between Maximum CME Speed Index and Typical Solar Activity Indicators During Cycle 23

Using the smoothed time series of maximum CME speed index for solar cycle 23, it is found that this index, analyzed jointly with six other solar activity indicators, shows a hysteresis phenomenon. The total solar irradiance, coronal index, solar radio flux (10.7?cm), Mg?ii core-to-wing ratio, sunspot area, and H?? flare index follow different paths for the ascending and the descending phases of solar cycle?23, while a saturation effect exists at the maximum phase of the cycle. However, the separations between the paths are not the same for the different solar activity indicators used: the H?? flare index and total solar irradiance depict broad loops, while the Mg?ii core-to-wing ratio and sunspot area depict narrow hysteresis loops. The lag times of these indices with respect to the maximum CME speed index are discussed, confirming that the hysteresis represents a clue in the search for physical processes responsible for changing solar emission.     

Solar and Heliospheric Causes of Geomagnetic Perturbations during the Growth Phase of Solar Cycle 23

A database is compiled for the study of solar and heliospheric causes of geomagnetic perturbations with the daily average index A > 20 that were observed in the period 1997–2000. The number of such events (more than 200) progressively increased and fluctuated as the current solar cycle developed. It is established that geomagnetic storms are generated by dynamical processes and structures near the center of the solar disk in a zone of several tens of degrees, and these processes are responsible for the appearance in the Earth's region, within several tens of hours, of quasistationary and transient solar wind streams with a sufficiently strong southward component of the heliospheric magnetic field. These streams lasted more than a few hours. The following structures can serve as morphological indicators for the prediction of the appearance of such streams: (1) active and disappearing filaments derived from synoptic -maps of the Sun, (2) solar flares, (3) coronal holes and evolving active regions, and (4) the heliospheric current sheet. The geometry of coronal mass ejections needs further observational study.     

太阳强磁区的精细结构形态

作者希望通过对国内外太阳物理学家多年来在太阳磁场精细结构方面的研究成果的回顾，探讨立足现有和将有的仪器设备，可能和应该从事的高分辨太阳磁场的研究工作。为突出重点，侧重评述１０００Ｇ以上的强磁场精细结构特征及与之相关的亮度特征的精细结构。     

Solar Modulation of Cosmic Rays during the Declining and Minimum Phases of Solar Cycle 23: Comparison with Past Three Solar Cycles

We study solar modulation of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) during the deep solar minimum, including the declining phase, of solar cycle 23 and compare the results of this unusual period with the results obtained during similar phases of the previous solar cycles 20, 21, and 22. These periods consist of two epochs each of negative and positive polarities of the heliospheric magnetic field from the north polar region of the Sun. In addition to cosmic-ray data, we utilize simultaneous solar and interplanetary plasma/field data including the tilt angle of the heliospheric current sheet. We study the relation between simultaneous variations in cosmic ray intensity and solar/interplanetary parameters during the declining and the minimum phases of cycle 23. We compare these relations with those obtained for the same phases in the three previous solar cycles. We observe certain peculiar features in cosmic ray modulation during the minimum of solar cycle 23 including the record high GCR intensity. We find, during this unusual minimum, that the correlation of GCR intensity is poor with sunspot number (correlation coefficient R=?0.41), better with interplanetary magnetic field (R=?0.66), still better with solar wind velocity (R=?0.80) and much better with the tilt angle of the heliospheric current sheet (R=?0.92). In our view, it is not the diffusion or the drift alone, but the solar wind convection that is the most likely additional effect responsible for the record high GCR intensity observed during the deep minimum of solar cycle 23.     

The Relation between the Amplitude and the Period of Solar Cycles

The maximum amplitudes of solar activity cycles are found to be well anti-correlated (r = -0.72) with the newly defined solar cycle lengths three cycles before (at lag -3) in 13-month running mean sunspot numbers during the past 190 years. This result could be used for predicting the maximum sunspot numbers. The amplitudes of Cycles 24 and 25 are estimated to be 149.5±27.6 and 144.3±27.6, respectively.     

The Alpha Effect and the Observed Twist and Current Helicity of Solar Magnetic Fields

We present a straightforward comparison of model calculations for the α-effect, helicities, and magnetic field line twist in the solar convection zone with magnetic field observations at atmospheric levels. The model calculations are carried out in a mixing-length approximation for the turbulence with a profile of the solar internal rotation rate obtained from helioseismic inversions. The magnetic field data consist of photospheric vector magnetograms of 422 active regions for which spatially-averaged values of the force-free twist parameter and of the current helicity density are calculated, which are then used to determine latitudinal profiles of these quantities. The comparison of the model calculations with the observations suggests that the observed twist and helicity are generated in the bulk of the convection zone, rather than in a layer close to the bottom. This supports two-layer dynamo models where the large-scale toroidal field is generated by differential rotation in a thin layer at the bottom while the α-effect is operating in the bulk of the convection zone. Our previous observational finding was that the moduli of the twist factor and of the current helicity density increase rather steeply from zero at the equator towards higher latitudes and attain a certain saturation at about 12 – 15^∘. In our dynamo model with algebraic nonlinearity, the increase continues, however, to higher latitudes and is more gradual. This could be due to the neglect of the coupling between small-scale and large-scale current and magnetic helicities and of the latitudinal drift of the activity belts in the model.