High-resolution observations of the polar magnetic fields of the sun

High-resolution magnetograms of the solar polar region were used for the study of the polar magnetic field. In contrast to low-resolution magnetograph observations which measure the polar magnetic field averaged over a large area, we focused our efforts on the properties of the small magnetic elements in the polar region. Evolution of the filling factor - the ratio of the area occupied by the magnetic elements to the total area - of these magnetic elements, as well as the average magnetic field strength, were studied during the maximum and declining phase of solar cycle 22, from early 1991 to mid-1993.We found that during the sunspot maximum period, the polar regions were occupied by about equal numbers of positive and negative magnetic elements, with equal average field strength. As the solar cycle progresses toward sunspot minimum, the magnetic field elements in the polar region become predominantly of one polarity. The average magnetic field of the dominant polarity elements also increases with the filling factor. In the meanwhile, both the filling factor and the average field strength of the non-dominant polarity elements decrease. The combined effects of the changing filling factors and average field strength produce the observed evolution of the integrated polar flux over the solar cycle.We compared the evolutionary histories of both filling factor and average field strength, for regions of high (70°–80°) and low (60°–70°) latitudes. For the south pole, we found no significant evidence of difference in the time of reversal. However, the low-latitude region of the north pole did reverse polarity much earlier than the high-latitude region. It later showed an oscillatory behavior. We suggest this may be caused by the poleward migration of flux from a large active region in 1989 with highly imbalanced flux.     

Cyclic variations of the polar coronal hole

The extension of the polar coronal holes has been studied for four cycles (1940–1978), using the observations of the corona line 530.3 nm. For about 7 years of each cycle, including sunspot minimum, the polar hole exists permanently and has a diameter of about 40° or even more. For about 3 years around sunspot maximum no polar hole does exist (Figure 5). The boundary of the hole is flanked at a distance of 10° by the polar zone of the corona and at one of 20° by that of the prominences. In the polar caps, so far they are occupied by the holes, polar photospheric faculae and the well-known plumes of the polar corona are found, and the polar crown of prominences, encircling the polar hole, is the belt where the reversal of the magnetic polarity takes place.     

Evolution of Active and Polar Photospheric Magnetic Fields During the Rise of Cycle 24 Compared to Previous Cycles

The evolution of the photospheric magnetic field during the declining phase and minimum of cycle 23 and the recent rise of cycle 24 are compared with the behavior during previous cycles. We used longitudinal full-disk magnetograms from the NSO??s three magnetographs at Kitt Peak, the Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun (SOLIS) vector spectro-magnetograph (VSM), the spectro-magnetograph and the 512-channel magnetograph instruments, and longitudinal full-disk magnetograms from the Mt. Wilson 150-foot tower. We analyzed 37 years of observations from these two observatories that have been observing daily, weather permitting, since 1974, offering an opportunity to study the evolving relationship between the active region and polar fields in some detail over several solar cycles. It is found that the annual averages of a proxy for the active region poloidal magnetic field strength, the magnetic field strength of the high-latitude poleward streams, and the time derivative of the polar field strength are all well correlated in each hemisphere. The active region net poloidal fields effectively disappeared in both hemispheres around 2004 and the polar fields have not become significantly stronger since this time. These results are based on statistically significant cyclical patterns in the active region fields and are consistent with the Babcock?CLeighton phenomenological model for the solar activity cycle. There was more hemispheric asymmetry in the total and maximum active region flux during late cycle 23 (after around 2004), when the southern hemisphere was more active, and the rise of cycle?24, when the northern hemisphere was more active, than at any other time since 1974. We see evidence that the process of cycle 24 field reversal has begun at both poles.     

An Analysis of Polar Coronal Hole Evolution: Relations to Other Solar Phenomena and Heliospheric Consequences

We use observations of the green corona low-brightness regions to construct a time series of a polar coronal hole area from 1939 to 1996, covering 5 solar cycles. We then perform a power-spectral analysis of the monthly data time series. Several persistent significant periodicities appear in the spectra, which are related with those found in solar magnetic flux emergence, geomagnetic storm sudden commencements and cosmic-ray flux at Earth. Of particular importance are the peak at around 1.6–1.8 yr recently found in cosmic-ray intensity fluctuations, and the peak at around 1 yr, also identified in coronal hole magnetic flux variations. Additional interesting features are the peaks close to 5 yr, 3 yr and the possible peak at around 30 yr, that were also found in other solar and interplanetary phenomena. Our results stress the physical connection between the solar magnetic flux emergence and the interplanetary medium dynamics, in particular the importance of coronal hole evolution in the structuring of the heliosphere.     

The reversal of the solar polar magnetic fields

The Mount Wilson synoptic magnetic data from CRs 1815 to 1866 are used to describe the reversal of the solar polar magnetic fields during the period May 1989–March 1993. These are compared with simulations based on the observed fields for CR 1815 using the flux transport equation. Simulations including the emergence of small bipoles with preferred poleward orientations are also described. It is shown that, while the former can provide a qualitative account of the evolution of the southern fields between CRs 1815 and 1860, only the latter can describe the evolution of the northern fields between CRs 1815 and 1865.     

Poleward migration of the magnetic neutral line and the reversal of the polar fields on the Sun

Poleward migration of the magnetic neutral line on the Sun has been calculated for the periods 1945–1950 and 1955–1981 using synoptic charts based on H observations. Epochs of sign reversal of the solar magnetic field at latitudes 50° to 90° have been determined for these periods. During the cycles 19 and 20 a threefold sign reversal took place in the northern hemisphere. During all the above cycles both the solar poles were of one polarity for a period ranging from 0.5 to 1 year. The poleward drift velocity of the magnetic neutral line varies from 6 to 29 m s^–1 and seems to depend on the strength of the cycle.     

Dynamics of the circumpolar magnetic field of the Sun at a maximum of cycle 24

Data on the value and sign of the circumpolar magnetic field of the Sun at a maximum of its activity in cycle 24 have been analyzed. The data were obtained from observations at the Wilcox Solar Observatory and from synoptic maps of the magnetic field built in the SOLIS project (SOLIS stands for Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun) and with the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI). We studied the dynamics of the total magnetic fields in the circumpolar latitudinal zones of different extension in the northern and southern hemispheres. The epochs of the sign reversal of the polar magnetic field were determined. It was found that, in cycle 24, the magnetic field polarity changed three times in the northern hemisphere and only once in the southern one. In the northern hemisphere, the reversal of the polar magnetic field finished approximately a year earlier than that in the southern one. The obtained results are compared to the data on the sign reversal of the polar magnetic field of the Sun reported for the previous solar cycles.     

The impact of meridional circulation on stellar butterfly diagrams and polar caps

Observations of rapidly rotating solar-like stars show a significant mixture of opposite-polarity magnetic fields within their polar regions. To explain these observations, models describing the surface transport of magnetic flux demand the presence of fast meridional flows. Here, we link subsurface and surface magnetic flux transport simulations to investigate (i) the impact of meridional circulations with peak velocities of  ≤125 m s⁻¹  on the latitudinal eruption pattern of magnetic flux tubes and (ii) the influence of the resulting butterfly diagrams on polar magnetic field properties. Prior to their eruption, magnetic flux tubes with low field strengths and initial cross-sections below  ∼300 km  experience an enhanced poleward deflection through meridional flows (assumed to be polewards at the top of the convection zone and equatorwards at the bottom). In particular, flux tubes which originate between low and intermediate latitudes within the convective overshoot region are strongly affected. This latitude-dependent poleward deflection of erupting magnetic flux renders the wings of stellar butterfly diagrams distinctively convex. The subsequent evolution of the surface magnetic field shows that the increased number of newly emerging bipoles at higher latitudes promotes the intermingling of opposite polarities of polar magnetic fields. The associated magnetic flux densities are about 20 per cent higher than in the case disregarding the pre-eruptive deflection, which eases the necessity for fast meridional flows predicted by previous investigations. In order to reproduce the observed polar field properties, the rate of the meridional circulation has to be of the order of 100 m s⁻¹, and the latitudinal range from which magnetic flux tubes originate at the base of the convective zone (≲50°) must be larger than in the solar case (≲35°).     

Reversals of the Sun’s Polar Magnetic Fields in Relation to Activity Complexes and Coronal Holes

A spatiotemporal analysis of long-term measurements of the Sun’s magnetic field was carried out to study changes in its zonal structure and reversals of the polar fields in Cycles 21?–?24. A causal relationship between activity complexes, their remnant magnetic fields, and high-latitude magnetic fields has been demonstrated in the current cycle. The appearance of unipolar magnetic regions near the poles is largely determined by the decay of long-lived activity complexes. The nonuniform distribution of sunspot activity and its north–south asymmetry result in the asymmetry of remnant fields that are transported poleward due to meridional circulation. The asymmetry of high-latitude magnetic fields leads to an asynchrony of polar-field reversals in both hemispheres. The interaction of high-latitude unipolar magnetic regions with the polar fields affects the embedded coronal holes. The evolution of large-scale magnetic fields was also studied in a time–latitude aspect. It is shown that regular reversals of the Sun’s polar fields resulted from cyclic changes in high-latitude magnetic fields. A triple polarity reversal of the polar fields in Cycle 21 and short-term polarity alternations at the poles were interpreted taking into account the interaction of the remnant fields with the Sun’s polar fields.     

The strength of the Sun's polar fields

The magnetic field strength within the polar caps of the Sun is an important parameter for both the solar activity cycle and for our understanding of the interplanetary magnetic field. Measurements of the line-of-sight component of the magnetic field generally yield 0.1 to 0.2 mT near times of sunspot minimum. In this paper we report measurements of the polar fields made at the Stanford Solar Observatory using the Fe i line 525.02 nm. We find that the average flux density poleward of 55° latitude is about 0.6 mT peaking to more than 1 mT at the pole and decreasing to 0.2 mT at the polar cap boundary. The total open flux through either polar cap thus becomes about 3 × 10¹⁴ Wb. We also show that observed magnetic field strengths vary as the line-of-sight component of nearly radial fields.     

Polar Coronal Holes During Cycles 22 and 23

The National Solar Observatory/Kitt Peak synoptic rotation maps of the magnetic field and of the equivalent width of the He i 1083 nm line are used to identify and measure polar coronal holes from September 1989 to the present. This period covers the entire lifetime of the northern and southern polar holes present during cycles 22 and 23 and includes the disappearance of the previous southern polar coronal hole in 1990 and and formation of the new northern polar hole in 2001. From this sample of polar hole observations, we found that polar coronal holes evolve from high-latitude (60° ) isolated holes. The isolated pre-polar holes form in the follower of the remnants of old active region fields just before the polar magnetic fields complete their reversal during the maximum phase of a cycle, and expand to cover the poles within 3 solar rotations after the reversal of the polar fields. During the initial 1.2–1.4 years, the polar holes are asymmetric about the pole and frequently have lobes extending into the active region latitudes. During this period, the area and magnetic flux of the polar holes increase rapidly. The surface areas, and in one case the net magnetic flux, reach an initial brief maximum within a few months. Following this initial phase, the areas (and in one case magnetic flux) decrease and then increase more slowly reaching their maxima during the cycle minimum. Over much of the lifetime of the measured polar holes, the area of the southern polar hole was smaller than the northern hole and had a significantly higher magnetic flux density. Both polar holes had essentially the same amount of magnetic flux at the time of cycle minimum. The decline in area and magnetic flux begins with the first new cycle regions with the holes disappearing about 1.1–1.8 years before the polar fields complete their reversal. The lifetime of the two polar coronal holes observed in their entirety during cycles 22 and 23 was 8.7 years for the northern polar hole and 8.3 years for the southern polar hole.     

Evolution of latitude zonal structure of the large-scale magnetic field in solar cycles

Properties of a latitude zonal component of the large-scale solar magnetic field are analyzed on the basis of H charts for 1905–1982. Poleward migration of prominences is used to determine the time of reversal of the polar magnetic field for 1870–1905. It is shown that in each hemisphere the polar, middle latitude and equatorial zones of the predominant polarity of large-scale magnetic field can be detected by calculating the average latitude of prominence samples referred to one boundary of the large-scale magnetic field. The cases of a single and three-fold polar magnetic field reversal are investigated. It is shown that prominence samples referred to one boundary of the large-scale magnetic field do not have any regular equatorward drift. They manifest a poleward migration with a variable velocity up to 30 m s^-1 depending on the phase of the cycle. The direction of migration is the same for both low-latitude and high-latitude zones. Two different time intervals of poleward migration are found. One lasts from the beginning of the cycle to the time of polar magnetic field reversal and the other lasts from the time of reversal to the time of minimum activity. The velocity of poleward migration of prominences during the first period is from 5 m s^-1 to 30 m s^-1 and the second period is devoid of regular latitude drift.     

Simulations of the sun's polar magnetic fields during sunspot cycle 21

Regarding new bipolar magnetic regions as sources of flux, we have simulated the evolution of the radial component of the solar photospheric magnetic field during 1976–1984 and derived the corresponding evolution of the line-of-sight polar fields as seen from Earth. The observed timing and strength of the polar-field reversal during cycle 21 can be accounted for by supergranular diffusion alone, for a diffusion coefficient of 800 km² s^-1. For an assumed 300 km² s^-1 rate of diffusion, on the other hand, a poleward meridional flow with a moderately broad profile and a peak speed of 10 m s^-1 reached at about 5° latitude is required to obtain agreement between the simulated and observed fields. Such a flow accelerates the transport of following-polarity flux to the polar caps, but also inhibits the diffusion of leading-polarity flux across the equator. For flows faster than about 10 m s^-1 the latter effect dominates, and the simulated polar fields reverse increasingly later and more weakly than the observed fields.Laboratory for Computational Physics and Fluid Dynamics.E. O. Hulburt Center for Space Research.     

The reversal of the solar polar magnetic fields

It is a basic feature of the Babcock-Leighton model of the solar cycle that the polar field reversal is due to the diffusive decay and poleward drift of the active region fields. The flux from follower regions moves preferentially polewards in each hemisphere, where it cancels with, and then replaces, the previously existing polar fields. A number of workers have attempted to model this process by numerical solutions of the flux transport equation, which include the surface effects of supergranule diffusion, differential rotation and meridional flow, with conflicting results.Here we describe recent changes in the polar fields using synoptic magnetic data provided by the Mount Wilson Observatory, and compare them with simulations using the flux transport equation and based on the observed fields for Carrington rotation 1815. These changes include a part-reversal of the north polar field. It is shown that the evolution of the polar fields cannot be reproduced accurately by simulations of the diffusion and poleward drift of the emerging active regions at sunspot latitudes.Histograms of the distribution of the field intensities derived from the daily magnetograms obtained at the Kitt Peak Station of the National Solar Observatory provide independent evidence that flux is emerging at high latitudes and that this flux makes a contribution to the evolution of these patterns. This implies the presence of some form of sub-surface dynamo action at high latitudes.On leave from the School of Mathematics, University of Sydney.     

Polar fields during the rising phase of cycle 22

High-resolution magnetograph observations of the polar magnetic fields have been obtained at intervals of time since the end of 1986 at Big Bear Solar Observatory. The Big Bear data differ from the low-resolution, full-disk magnetograph observations in that the 2 arc sec resolution makes it possible to resolve concentrated field upward of 100 G. The purpose of this ongoing observation is to examine the evolution of polar fields during the expected polarity reversal as cycle 22 passes its maximum phase, and secondly, to study the polar magnetic field: its true field strength, distribution, and how it compares to other parts of the quiet Sun.We find that the >70° net polar flux of both poles has not reversed as of the end of 1989. However, in the lower latitudes of both poles, 50° to 70°, there are signs reminiscent of those preceding the reversals in cycles 19 and 20. These include: decreasing field intensity in the old polarity fluctuations in net flux between the old and new polarities.We find that the net average longitudinal polar fields (above 50°) are 1–2 G, in agreement with results found in cycles 19 and 20. For individual elements, however, the strongest observed field strength poleward of 70° is over 100 G.We compare the polar fields with the equatorial limb as a function of latitute and longitude, respectively, and find the polar fields are comparable to (or stronger than) the quiet equatorial limb. When the observed mean flux density of the polar field as a function of latitude is corrected for limb-darkening and projection effects (assuming the field is radial), the result is nearly constant. These results suggest that despite the high latitudes, the polar fields have field strength and distribution similar to other parts of the quiet Sun.     

The effect of newly erupting flux on the polar coronal holes

He i 10830 Å images show that early in sunspot cycles 21 and 22, large bipolar magnetic regions strongly affected the boundaries of the nearby polar coronal holes. East of each eruption, the hole boundary immediately contracted poleward, leaving a band of enhanced helium network. West of the eruption, the boundary remained diffuse and gradually expanded equatorward into the leading, like-polarity part of the bipolar magnetic region. Comparisons between these observations and simulations based on a current-free coronal model suggest that:

1. The Sun's polar magnetic fields are confined to relatively small caps of high average field strength, apparently by a poleward meridional flow.
2. The enhanced helium network at high latitude marks the location of relatively strong polar fields that have become linked to the newly erupted bipolar region in that hemisphere.
3. The distortion of the polar-hole boundary is accompanied by a corresponding distortion of the equatorial neutral sheet in the outer corona, in which the amount of warping depends on the magnitude of the erupted flux relative to the strength of the Sun's polar magnetic fields.

     

Polar Coronal Structures and the Global Magnetic Field Evolution Through the Cycle

We compare the shape and position of some plasma formations visible in the polar corona with the cyclic evolution of the global magnetic field. The first type of object is polar crown prominences. A two-fold decrease of the height of polar crown prominences was found during their poleward migration from the middle latitudes to the poles before a polar magnetic field reversal. The effect could be assigned to a decrease of the magnetic field scale. The second type of object is the polar plumes, ray like structures that follow magnetic field lines. Tangents to polar ray structures are usually crossed near some point, “a magnetic focus,” below the surface. The distance q between the focus and the center of the solar disk changes from the maximum value about 0.65 R _⊙ at solar minimum activity to the minimum value about 0.45 R _⊙ at solar maximum. At first glance this behaviour seems to be contrary to the dynamics of spherical harmonics of the global magnetic field throughout a cycle. We believe that the problem could be resolved if one takes into account not only scale changes in the global magnetic field but also the phase difference in the cyclic variations of large-scale and small-scale components of the global field.     

The concentration of the large-scale solar magnetic field by a meridional surface flow

We calculate analytical and numerical solutions to the magnetic flux transport equation in the absence of new bipolar sources of flux, for several meridional flow profiles and a range of peak flow speeds. We find that a poleward flow with a broad profile and a nominal 10 m s^–1 maximum speed concentrates the large-scale field into very small caps of less than 15° half-angle, with average field strengths of several tens of gauss, contrary to observations. A flow which reaches its peak speed at a relatively low latitude and then decreases rapidly to zero at higher latitudes leads to a large-scale field pattern which is consistent with observations. For such a flow, only lower latitude sunspot groups can contribute to interhemispheric flux annihilation and the resulting decay and reversal of the polar magnetic fields.     

Observations of the Polar Magnetic Fields During the Polarity Reversals of Cycle 22

The Mount Wilson synoptic magnetic data for the period September 1987 through March 1996 are completely revised and used to provide polar plots of the solar magnetic fields for both hemispheres. This period, from Carrington rotations 1793 to 1906, covers the reversals of the polar magnetic fields in cycle 22. Comparison of our plots with the presently available H filtergrams for this period shows that the polarity boundaries are consistent in these two data sets where they overlap. The Mount Wilson plots show that the polar field reversals involve a complex sequence of events. Although the details differ slightly, the basic patterns are similar in each hemisphere. First the old polarity becomes isolated at the pole, then shortly thereafter, the isolation is broken, and the polar field includes unipolar regions of both polarities. The old polarity then reclaims the polar region, but when the isolation of this field is established for a second time, it declines in both area and strength. We take the reversal to be complete when the old polarity field is no longer observed in the Mount Wilson plots. With this criterion we find that the polar field reversal is completed in the north by CR 1836, i.e., by December 1990, and in the south by CR 1853, i.e., March 1992.