Radio mapping of the heliospheric current sheet

Synoptic plots of solar radio noise storms in the interval 1973 to 1984 are described. The dividing line between opposite noise storm polarities appears to be a good representation of the heliospheric current sheet out to displacements in latitude of ～ ± 50° from the solar equator. This result is surprising, because noise storms are closely associated with closed magnetic field regions near sunspots. The possibility that noise storm polarity is determined by mode coupling high in the corona, where field lines are open, can be ruled out by the available evidence. This leads us to conclude that it is the clustering in longitude of active region complexes which determines the sector structure of the interplanetary magnetic field.