On the variations in the parameters of high-degree acoustic modes with solar cycle

We analyze the pattern of behavior of p-mode wave packets with solar cycle using TON one-day helioseismic data with a high spatial resolution. The time—distance method is used to perform this task. We make an attempt to determine the variations in the travel time of acoustic waves at maximum and minimum solar activity; at maximum activity, this time decreases by 2 s compared to that at minimum activity to a depth of 0.8R_⊙. In addition, the correlation amplitudes of acoustic wave packets from minimum to maximum solar activity were found to decrease by 10–20% for all angular distances.     

Periodic variation of the north-south asymmetry of solar activity phenomena

We report here a study of various solar activity phenomena occurring in both north and south hemispheres of the Sun during solar cycles 8–23. In the study we have used sunspot data for the period 1832–1976, flare index data for the period 1936-1993, Hα flare data 1993–1998 and solar active prominences data for the period 1957–1998. Earlier Verma reported long-term cyclic period in N-S asymmetry and also that the N-S asymmetry of solar activity phenomena during solar cycles 21, 22, 23 and 24 will be south dominated and the N-S asymmetry will shift to north hemisphere in solar cycle 25. The present study shows that the N-S asymmetry during solar cycles 22 and 23 are southern dominated as suggested by Verma.     

To the description of long-term variations in the solar magnetic flux: The sunspot area index

We show that the Wolf sunspot numbers W and the group sunspot numbers GSN are physically different indices of solar activity and that it is improper to compare them. Based on the approach of the so-called “primary” indices from the observational series of W(t) and GSN(t), we suggest series of yearly mean sunspot areas beginning in 1610 and monthly mean sunspot areas beginning in 1749.     

Long term variations in solar flare activity

A statistical analysis of the contemporary (1954-1975) solar flare particle events has been made for the parametersF (integrated, proton fluence in cm^-2 in an event with kinetic energy above 10 MeV) andR ₀ (the characteristic rigidity). These data are compared with the long-term averaged values determined from stable- and radio-nuclide measurements of lunar samples. The analysis shows that the ancient solar flare proton spectrum was harder (higher R₀ values) compared to that observed in contemporary flares. A similar analysis can not be made for the mean long-term averaged flux (ˉJ, cm^-2 S^-1), since the contemporary averages suffer from an uncertainty due to the statistics of a single event. However, the average flux estimates for time durations 〈T〉 exceeding 10³ yr, are free from such uncertainties. The long-term averaged ˉJ values obtained over different time scales (10⁴ - 10⁶ yr) suggest a possible periodic variation in solar flare activity, with enhanced flux level during the last 10⁵ yr. The available data rule out the occurrence of giant flares, with proton fluence exceeding 10¹⁵ cm^-2 during the last million years.     

Velocity distribution of stars in the solar neighbourhood

A two-dimensional velocity distribution in the UV plane has been obtained for stars in the solar neighbourhood, using Hipparcos astrometry for over 4000 'survey' stars with parallaxes greater than 10 mas and radial velocities found in the Hipparcos Input Catalogue. In addition to the already known grouping characteristics (field stars plus young moving groups), the velocity distribution seems to exhibit a more complex structure characterized by several longer branches running almost parallel to each other across the UV plane. By using the wavelet transform technique to analyse the distribution, the branches are visible at relatively high significance levels of 90 per cent or higher. They are roughly equidistant with a separation of about 15 km s⁻¹ for early-type stars and about 20 km s⁻¹ for late-type stars, creating an overall quasi-periodic structure which can also be detected by means of a two-dimensional Fourier transform. This branch-like velocity distribution might be caused by the Galactic spiral structure.     

A study of the regularities in solar magnetic activity by singular spectral analysis

The method of singular spectral analysis (SSA) is described and used to analyze the series of Wolf numbers that characterizes solar activity from 1748 until 1996. Since this method is relatively new, we detail its algorithm as applied to the data under study. We examine the advantages and disadvantages of the SSA method and the conditions for its applicability to an analysis of the solar-activity data. Certain regularities have been found in the dynamics of this series. Both short and long (80–100-year) periodicities have been revealed in the sunspot dynamics. We predict the solar activity until 2014.     

Some statistical features of solar radio SVC in the rising branch of cycle 22

For the rising branch of Cycle 22, 1987 January—1989 November, we plot the daily total flux S at each of the five wavelengths 2.0, 3.4, 6.0, 10.7 and 21.2 cm against the apparent sunspot area of the dominant sunspot A_y and find that, for several large active areas, the locus is located below the average regression line, and the increase in the radio flux is insignificant compared to the increase in the sunspot area.     

On the periodicity of energy release in solar active regions

We investigate the periodic regimes of energy release on the Sun, namely, the recurrence of solar flares in active regions using the Solar Geophysical Data Journal on Hα flares from 1979 until 1981, which corresponds to the maximum of solar cycle 21. We obtained the following series of periods in the manifestation of flare activity bymeans of a correlation periodogram analysis, a self-similarity function, and a wavelet analysis: ～1, 2, 3 h as well as ～0.4, 1, 2, 5 days. We suggest a diffusive model for the quasi-periodic transfer of toroidal magnetic fields from under the photosphere to interpret the retrieved sequence of periods in the enhancement of flare activity. We estimated the typical spatial scales of the magnetic field variations in the solar convection zone: ～17 000 km.     

Kinematics and history of the solar neighbourhood revisited

We use proper motions and parallaxes from the new reduction of Hipparcos data and Geneva–Copenhagen radial velocities for a complete sample of  ∼15 000  main-sequence and subgiant stars, and new Padova isochrones to constrain the kinematics and star formation history of the solar neighbourhood. We rederive the solar motion and the structure of the local velocity ellipsoids. When the principal velocity dispersions are assumed to increase with time as   t ^β  , the index β is larger for  σ _W (β _W ≈ 0.45  ) than for  σ _U (β _U ≈ 0.31)  . For the three-dimensional velocity dispersion, we obtain  β= 0.35  . We exclude saturation of disc heating after  ∼3 Gyr  as proposed by Quillen & Garnett. Saturation after  ≳4 Gyr  combined with an abrupt increase in velocity dispersion for the oldest stars cannot be excluded. For all our models, the star formation rate (SFR) is declining, being a factor of 2–7 lower now than it was at the beginning. Models in which the SFR declines exponentially favour very high disc ages between 11.5 and 13 Gyr and exclude ages below  ∼10.5 Gyr  as they yield worse fits to the number density and velocity dispersion of red stars. Models in which the SFR is the sum of two declining exponentials representing the thin and thick discs favour ages between 10.5 and 12 Gyr with a lower limit of  ∼10.0 Gyr  . Although in our models the SFR peaked surprisingly early, the mean formation time of solar-neighbourhood stars is later than in ab initio models of galaxy formation, probably on account of weaknesses in such models.     

On the superfine structure of solar microwave bursts

Solar microwave bursts with a zebra pattern commonly exhibit a superfine time structure: the zebra stripes consist of separate spike-like pulses. We investigate the superfine structure in the April 21, 2002 event. The emission pulses are shown to exhibit a high periodicity (with a period of about 30 ms); there is a clear correlation between the individual zebra stripes. This structure of the dynamic spectra most likely reflects a periodic injection of electron beams, which generate emission at the double plasma resonance levels.     

On the origin of transient effects in the solar neutrino experiment

Correlation studies of the pattern of time variation of the recorded solar neutrino flux monitored through the reaction Cl³⁷ → Ar³⁷ with various parameters of solar activity is suggestive of possible emission of a penetrating neutral particle from the sun influencing directly or indirectly the transformation Cl³⁷ → Ar³⁷ deep underground at the required rates. This possibility has to be invoked in view of the difficulties in generating the observed pattern of variations through a large modulatory mechanism involving the electron neutrino. The prediction that follows is the possible existence of a time varying component (diurnal) in the rate of some nuclear transmutations deep underground caused by an unknown neutral radiation having an interaction cross section with matter probably much larger than the canonical value of 10^-36 cm² per nucleon speculated upon by some authors in the WIMP scenario for the sun.     

On the solar rotation and activity

The interaction between differential rotation and magnetic fields in the solar convection zone was recently modelled by Brun (2004). One consequence of that model is that the Maxwell stresses can oppose the Reynolds stresses, and thus contribute to the transport of the angular momentum towards the solar poles, leading to a reduced differential rotation. So, when magnetic fields are weaker, a more pronounced differential rotation can be expected, yielding a higher rotation velocity at low latitudes taken on the average. This hypothesis is consistent with the behaviour of the solar rotation during the Maunder minimum. In this work we search for similar signatures of the relationship between the solar activity and rotation determined tracing sunspot groups and coronal bright points. We use the extended Greenwich data set (1878–1981) and a series of full-disc solar images taken at 28.4 nm with the EIT instrument on the SOHO spacecraft (1998–2000). We investigate the dependence of the solar rotation on the solar activity (described by the relative sunspot number) and the interplanetary magnetic field (calculated from the interdiurnal variability index). Possible rotational signatures of two weak solar activity cycles at the beginning of the 20th century (Gleissberg minimum) are discussed. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Slow solar wind: Sources and components of the stream structure at the solar maximum

We study the sources and components of the solar-wind spatial stream structure at the maximum of the solar cycle 23. In our analysis, we use several independent sets of experimental data: radio-astronomical observations of scattered radiation from compact sources with the determination of the distance from the Sun to the inner boundary of the transonic-flow transition region (R_in); calculated data on the magnetic-field intensity and structure in the solar corona, in the solar-wind source region, obtained from optical measurements of the photospheric magnetic-field intensity at the Stanford Solar Observatory (USA); and observations of the white-light corona with the LASCO coronograph onboard the SOHO spacecraft. We show that at the solar maximum, low-speed streams with a transition region located far from the Sun dominate in the solar-wind structure. A correlation analysis of the location of the inner boundary R_in and the source-surface magnetic-field intensity |B _R | on a sphere R=2.5R_S (R_S is the solar radius) has revealed the previously unknown lowest-speed streams, which do not fit into the regular relationship between the parameters R_in and |B _R |. In the white-light corona, the sources of these streams are located near the dark strip, a coronal region with a greatly reduced density; the nonstandard parameters of the streams probably result from the interaction of several discrete sources of different types.     

On the topological trigger of large eruptive solar flares

The possibility of studying the topological properties of the magnetic fields in solar active regions is considered in terms of simple models. Analysis of the field topology shows that the topological trigger effect should be taken into account when large eruptive flares are modeled.     

22-Year periodicity in the solar differential rotation

Using the data on sunspot groups compiled during 1879–1975, we determined variations in the differential rotation coefficientsA andB during the solar cycle. The variation in the equatorial rotation rateA is found to be significant only in the odd numbered cycles, with an amplitude ∼ 0.01 μ rads^-1. There exists a good anticorrelation between the variations of the differential rotation rateB derived from the odd and even numbered cycles, suggesting existence of a ‘22-year’ periodicity inB. The amplitude of the variation ofB is ∼ 0.05 μ rad s^-1.     

On the solar origin of the thermoluminescence profile of the GT14 core

The thermoluminescence (TL) profile of the GT14 Ionian Sea core has been recently analyzed in connection with other records of solar activity. Phenomenological similarities among the TL profile, the radiocarbon record in tree-rings and the variations of the mean anuual sunspot number R _z suggest a solar control of the TL signal. In this paper we consider new readings of the TL profile of the GT14 core which were obtained at different glow temperatures. While the main spectral peaks discussed in previous papers are observed in all readings, a few new significant periodic components may now be separated from the noise background. Among these, a strong 22 yr (Hale) cycle is evident, together with a periodicity of 28.5 yr which has already been detected in the spectrum of the sunspot number series. We finally test the temporal persistency of the main TL periodic components by using a cyclogram method and we explore the effects of background noise by considering the TL profile of bleached samples.