Long-term variations in the asymmetry of the magnetic field of the sun and heliosphere

The asymmetry of the magnetic field of the Sun and its manifestation in the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) are studied. The dominant magnetic polarity of the radial component of the IMF alternates from cycle to cycle, but with an overall systematic dominance of polarity directed toward the Sun. The global asymmetry is also manifest in the component of the IMF perpendicular to the plane of the solar equator. The dominance of positive values of B _z together with an appreciable linear trend in the cumulative sum of this quantity is interpreted as a manifestation of a relic solar magnetic field. The strength of this relic magnetic field near the Earth is estimated to be 0.048 ± 0.015 nT, based on the growth of the linear component of the cumulative sum of B _z . Time intervals, in which negative values of the B _z component of the IMF dominate and enhanced geomagnetic activity is observed, are identified. Our analysis of solar and heliospheric magnetic fields in an integrated representation has enabled us to compare various types of measurements and estimate their stability.     

Active longitudes and north-south asymmetry of the activity the Sun as manifestations of its relic magnetic field

The distributions of dominant magnetic polarities in synoptic maps of photospheric magnetic fields and their extrapolations to the corona based on Stanford Observatory data are studied. Both dipolar and quadrupolar magnetic patterns are detected in the distributions of dominant polarities in the near-equatorial region of the photosphere for activity cycles 21, 22, and 23. The field in these patterns often has opposite signs on opposite sides of the equator, with this sign changing from cycle to cycle. A longitude-time analysis of variations of the mean solar magnetic field shows that the contribution of the large-scale magnetic patterns to the total field does not exceed 20 µT. The most stable magnetic structures at a quasi-source surface in the solar corona are separated by approximately 180° in heliographic longitude and are close to dipolar. The nature and behavior of these large-scale magnetic patterns are interpreted as a superposition of cyclic dynamo modes and the nonaxially symmetric relic field of the Sun. The contribution of the relic field to the mean solar magnetic field appears as a weak but stable rotational modulation whose amplitude does not exceed 8 µT.     

Periodic instabilities in protostellar disks with azimuthal magnetic fields

The stability of magnetohydrodynamic oscillations in a protostellar disk with a toroidal magnetic field is analyzed. It is shown that, apart from the aperiodic magnetorotational instability, two other types of periodic instabilities of non-axisymmetric perturbations can exist. The simultaneous presence of azimuthal and vertical components of the wave vector are necessary for these to exist. One instability is due to the inductive winding-up of the azimuthal magnetic field of the wave, and the other arises when the field amplitude is increased by a comoving Hall wave, transferring magnetic field into a region of enhanced field intensity. The bandwidths of the unstable wave numbers are analyzed as a function of the Hall current, the β parameter of a plasma, and the angle between the direction of wave propagation and the plane of the disk. Regions in the accretion disks typical of T Tauri stars are indentified where these instabilities could be most active.     

The Nature of Variations in Anomalies of the Chemical Composition of the Solar Corona with the 11-Year Cycle

Evidence that the distribution of the abundances of admixtures with low first-ionization potentials (FIP < 10 eV) in the lower solar corona could be associated with the typology of the largescale magnetic field is presented. Solar observations show an enhancement in the abundances of elements with low FIPs compared to elements with high FIPs (>10 eV) in active regions and closed magnetic configurations in the lower corona. Observations with the ULYSSES spacecraft and at the Stanford Solar Observatory have revealed strong correlations between the manifestation of the FIP effect in the solar wind, the strength of the open magnetic flux (without regard to sign), and the ratio of the large-scale toroidal and poloidal magnetic fields at the solar surface. Analyses of observations of the Sun as a star show that the enhancement of the abundances of admixtures with low FIPs in the corona compared to their abundances in the photosphere (the FIP effect) is closely related to the solar-activity cycle and also with variations in the topology of the large-scale magnetic field. A possible mechanism for the relationship between the FIP effect and the spectral type of a star is discussed in the framework of solar–stellar analogies.     

Phase space of a two-dimensional model of a Parker dynamo

The dependences of the magnetic-field strength, variations of the magnetic field, and the multipole level on the amplitudes of the α and ω effects are considered using a two-dimensional model for a Parker dynamo in a spherical layer. Calculations have been carried out for both traditional spatial distributions of α and ω and geostrophic regimes obtained from three-dimensional modeling of thermal convection. Two-dimensional distributions of the dynamo-wave velocities in the zone where magnetic field is generated are presented. Comparisons with the solar and planetary dynamos are considered.     

The solar dynamo and integrated irradiance variations in the course of the 11-year cycle

Abstractthe effect of the large-scale magnetic fields generated by the solar dynamo on the radiation flux issuing from the convection zone is studied. A governing equation describing convective heat transfer is obtained in the framework of mean-field magnetohydrodynamics, with account for the influence of magnetic fields and differential rotation on the energy budget of the convection zone. The principal effects are illustrated using a one-dimensional numerical model. Calculations indicate that the influence of large-scale magnetic fields can modulate the solar irradiance with a relative amplitude of ～0.07%.     

The increase in the magnetic flux from the polar regions of the Sun over the last 120 years

The latitudes of the zonal boundaries of the global magnetic field of the Sun are determined from the magnetic neutral lines on synoptic Hα maps obtained during 1878–1999. The area of the polar zone occupied by magnetic field of a single polarity at solar minima has doubled over the last 120 years. This provides an explanation for the secular increase in heliospheric characteristics, which differs from the two-fold increase of the magnetic field strength predicted for this period. The temporal variations of the magnetic flux from the polar regions and their role in global changes of the Earth’s climate are discussed in connection with secular variations in the structure of the internal magnetic field of the Sun.     

Magnetic fields in the radiative-transport zone and the solar cycle

It is shown that a hypothetical relict magnetic field in the solar radiative-transport zone that penetrates into the convective zone would affect the solar dynamo, resulting in radical changes in the butterfly diagrams. This would transform the traveling waves of activity into standing waves. A comparison of our results with the well-known butterfly diagrams for the Sun gives an upper limit of the order of some tens G for the value of relict magnetic field penetrating into the solar convective zone. At the same time, it is not ruled out that such relict magnetic fields in other solar-type stars are strong enough to make the activity waves become standing waves.     

Motion of an eruptive prominence in the solar corona

A model for the nonradial motion of an eruptive prominence in the solar corona is proposed. Such motions, which can sometimes be inaccessible to observation, result in an apparent break in the causal link between eruptive prominences and coronal mass ejections. The global magnetic field of the Sun governs coronal plasma motions. The complex structure of this field can form prominence trajectories that differ considerably from a simple vertical rise (i.e., radial motion). A solar filament is modeled as a current-carrying ring or twisted toroidal magnetic rope in equilibrium with the coronal magnetic field. The global field is described using two spherical harmonics. A catastrophic violation of the filament equilibrium followed by its rapid acceleration—eruption—is possible in this nonlinear system. The numerical solution of the equations of motion corresponds well to the eruption pattern observed on December 14, 1997.     

Convective mechanism for the formation of photospheric magnetic fields

The well-known model that attributes the formation of a bipolar sunspot group to the emergence of a flux tube disagrees sharply with the usual observed pattern of phenomena. At the same time, the observed patterns can be accounted for quite convincingly in terms of local magnetic-field amplification due to cellular convective motions of the solar plasma. In this study, magnetoconvection in a plane horizontal fluid layer is simulated numerically in the framework of the fully nonlinear, three-dimensional problem. A weak horizontal magnetic field and weak cellular flow are assumed to be present initially. Convection is shown to be capable of producing bipolar magnetic configurations of the strongly amplified magnetic field. Indications of magnetic freezing of the flow in the cell are found. The action of the amplification mechanism under study may be controlled by the large-scale toroidal magnetic field of the Sun.     

Magnetic activity inside the auroral zones and field-aligned currents

Big perturbations of the magnetic field (amplitudes larger than 250 nT) are simply detected by subtracting the values of a model from the measurements of CHAMP satellite. Taking a full year of CHAMP data and organizing them in four subsets of three months length (spring, summer, autumn, winter), it is found that: (a) the two domains where such big perturbations mainly exist are limited, in both hemispheres, by a parallel of high latitude of the corrected geomagnetic coordinates system; (b) a conspicuous seasonal (annual) variation affects the density of the perturbations and is opposite in the two hemispheres. We hold that these perturbations are linked to the midday magnetic activity within the auroral zone, long ago described by one of us (Mayaud, 1956). The source of the perturbations observed at the satellite altitude would be field-aligned currents resulting from the penetration of the solar wind into the magnetospheric cusps. To cite this article: J.-L. Le Mouël et al., C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).     

Magnetohydrodynamic model of the solar tachocline

The tachocline is a thin layer providing the transition from differential to uniform rotation in the upper region of the solar radiative zone, which can be explained as an effect of the magnetic field if the magnetic field lines are closed inside the radiative zone. It is shown that the confined field structure that is necessary for the tachocline formation can arise due to the penetration of meridional flow from the convective envelope to the radiative zone. The time for the distortion of the magnetic field by the penetrating flow is short compared to the time for diffusion to the penetration depth. The most long-lived mode of the poloidal field has a confined geometry, and the Ohmic lifetime of this mode exceeds the age of the Sun. The calculated distribution of the angular velocity in the radiative zone taking into account such a field shows a thin tachocline.     

A dynamo in a torus as an explanation of magnetic fields in the outer rings of galaxies

It is currently generally believed that magnetic fields in the disks of spiral galaxies are generated by the dynamo mechanism, which is based on the joint action of differential rotation and the alpha effect, associated with turbulent motions in the interstellar gas. Together with their disks, outer rings are also encountered in galaxies, where magnetic fields may be present. In earlier studies, the generation of magnetic fields has been described in a planar approximation, whose essence is that the size of rings perpendicular to the plane of the galaxy is much smaller than their size in the radial direction. However, it is plausible that these sizesmay sometimes be comparable, so that it would be more logical to suppose that a ring has a toroidal form. A model for a dynamo in a toroidal ring is constructed in this study. This model describes the magnetic field using two functions, corresponding to the toroidal component of the field and the part of the vector potential characterizing its poloidal component. The possible generation of magnetic field in various cases is shown, with both quadrupolar symmetry (close to the fields obtained in the planar approximation) and dipolar symmetry (when two layers with oppositely directed magnetic fields form in the ring). The parameter values for which the generation of fields with one or the other type of symmetry is possible are estimated. The results can also be used to describe the evolution of the magnetic fields in other toroidal astrophysical objects.     

河北小山火山的地磁场分布特征及其地质意义

河北小山火山地处渤海之滨,是渤海西岸地壳活动最直接的证据,其典型性、多样性和自然性在国内非常罕见,具有独特的科学研究意义。该火山地质遗迹保护区基本全被第四系覆盖,而高精度磁测方法可研究第四系覆盖区地质特征,是寻找火山遗迹边界、区内典型地质构造的必要手段。本研究主要分析了小山火山地质遗迹保护区的磁场分布特征;通过对磁异常进行化极、向上延拓等处理,基本查明保护区内岩浆岩和沉积地层的分布范围,圈定了火山遗迹的边界,并推断存在多条断裂。本研究可为小山火山地质遗迹的保护工作提供可靠的基础资料,对地质遗迹景观点的划分、保护区的整体合理规划等具有重要的参考价值。     

Toroidal magnetic field of the Sun from data on Hale-rule-violating sunspot groups

The latitude-time distribution of sunspot groups violating Hale polarity rule is considered for 1988–2004. This distribution exhibits a cyclic behavior similar to the general 11-year sunspot-activity cycle. The relative number of violating groups is used to estimate the ratio of the fluctuating and regular components of the toroidal magnetic field at the base of the convection zone.     

Rotational and magnetic corrections to the g-mode frequencies in a one-dimensional MHD model

The central magnetic field and rotation of the solar radiative zone are responsible for corrections to the g-mode frequencies. Magnetogravitational spectra are calculated analytically in a simple one-dimensional MHD model that goes beyond the WKB approximation and avoid any cusp resonances that trap the wave within the radiative zone in the presence of a weak magnetic background. The calculations are compared with spacecraft observations of the 1% frequency shifts for candidate g-modes found in the SOHO GOLF experiment. The magnetic correction is the main contribution for a strong magnetic field satisfying the approximation used. It is shown that a constant magnetic field of 700 kG in the radiative zone provides the required frequency shift for the n = ?10 g-mode. The rotational correction, which is due to the Coriolis force in the one-dimensional model used, is much less than a percent (α_Ω ≤ 0.003).     

A dynamical system for the parker dynamo in the case of quadrupole symmetry of the magnetic field

Adynamical systemin the case of quadrupolar symmetry of the toroidal field is constructed. The system obtained reproduces the regimes of oscillations, vacillations, dynamo bursts, and a configuration with monotonically growing magnetic fields reaching stationary regimes. The ranges of dynamo numbers corresponding to these regimes are found. Butterfly diagrams for the steady-oscillation regime are constructed for both the poloidal and toroidal components of the magnetic field.     

Magnetic-field structure in the accretion disks of semi-detached binary systems

The results of three-dimensional MHD numerical simulations are used to investigate the characteristic properties of the magnetic-field structures in the accretion disks of semi-detached binary systems. It is assumed that the intrinsic magnetic field of the accretor star is dipolar. Turbulent diffusion of the magnetic field in the disk is taken into account. The SS Cyg system is considered as an example. The results of the numerical simulations show the intense generation of a predominantly toroidal magnetic field in the accretion disk. Magnetic zones with well defined structures for the toroidal magnetic field form in the disk, which are separated by current sheets in which there ismagnetic reconnection and current dissipation. Possible observational manifestations of such structures are discussed. It is shown that the interaction of a spiral precessional wave with the accretor’s magnetosphere could lead to quasi-periodic oscillations of the accretion rate.     

The hanle effect in a turbulent magnetic field

Exact analytical expressions for the scattering phase matrix are presented for various models of a turbulent magnetic field having a symmetry axis in the solar atmosphere. The polarization of the scattered radiation in the plane of the scattering is shown to be virtually independent of the predominant direction of the turbulent magnetic field. The Hanle effect does not operate in a longitudinal magnetic field normal to the surface of the atmosphere, since the phase matrix has the form of a resonance phase matrix with zero magnetic field.     

Peculiarities of electric and magnetic tipper variations caused by meteorological disturbances in the atmosphere

We present the results of the analysis of experimental data of synchronous observations of variations in the electric and magnetic fields as well as acoustic oscillations in the surface zone of the Earth compared with variations in the meteorological parameters. We demonstrate the synchronous variations in these fields and atmospheric parameters. We revealed, for the first time, not only synchronous but also advancing manifestations of the geomagnetic field perturbations. We introduce a new parameter: the inverse magnetic tipper whose variations during atmospheric perturbations are clearly manifested compared with the variations in the magnetic tipper.