Fe XII STALKS AND THE ORIGIN OF THE AXIAL FIELD IN FILAMENT CHANNELS
Employing Fe XII images and line-of-sight magnetograms, we deduce the direction of the axial field in high-latitude filament channels from the orientation of the adjacent stalklike structures. Throughout the rising phase of the current solar cycle 24, filament channels poleward of latitude 30 Degree-Sign overwhelmingly obeyed the hemispheric chirality rule, being dextral (sinistral) in the northern (southern) hemisphere, corresponding to negative (positive) helicity. During the deep minimum of 2007-2009, the orientation of the Fe XII stalks was often difficult to determine, but no obvious violations of the rule were found. Although the hemispheric trend was still present during the maximummore »