Deciphering solar magnetic activity. I. On the relationship between the sunspot cycle and the evolution of small magnetic features

Journal Article · Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/792/1/12· OSTI ID:22365239

McIntosh, Scott W.; Wang, Xin; Markel, Robert S.; Thompson, Michael J. ^[1]; Leamon, Robert J.; Malanushenko, Anna V. ^[2]; Davey, Alisdair R. ^[3]; Howe, Rachel ^[4]; Krista, Larisza D. ^[5]; Cirtain, Jonathan W. ^[6]; Gurman, Joseph B.

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1. High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307 (United States)
2. Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717 (United States)
3. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
4. School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT (United Kingdom)
5. Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80205 (United States)
6. Marshall Space Flight Center, Code ZP13, Huntsville, AL 35812 (United States)

Sunspots are a canonical marker of the Sun's internal magnetic field which flips polarity every ∼22 yr. The principal variation of sunspots, an ∼11 yr variation, modulates the amount of the magnetic field that pierces the solar surface and drives significant variations in our star's radiative, particulate, and eruptive output over that period. This paper presents observations from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory and Solar Dynamics Observatory indicating that the 11 yr sunspot variation is intrinsically tied to the spatio-temporal overlap of the activity bands belonging to the 22 yr magnetic activity cycle. Using a systematic analysis of ubiquitous coronal brightpoints and the magnetic scale on which they appear to form, we show that the landmarks of sunspot cycle 23 can be explained by considering the evolution and interaction of the overlapping activity bands of the longer-scale variability.

• OSTI ID: 22365239
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 792, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
EVOLUTION
INTERACTIONS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
ROTATION
SPACE-TIME MODEL
SUN
SUNSPOTS
SURFACES