Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Long-Term Variations of the Magnetic Field of the Solar Photosphere

  • Published:
Geomagnetism and Aeronomy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Variations of weak magnetic fields of the photosphere with periods on the order of the solar magnetic cycle have been studied. Synoptic maps of the photospheric magnetic field obtained by NSO Kitt Peak for the period from 1978 to 2016 were used as initial data. In order to study weak magnetic fields, the saturation threshold for synoptic maps was set equal to 5 G. The converted synoptic maps were used to construct the time–latitude diagram; 18 temporal profiles of the magnetic field for latitudes uniformly distributed along the sine from the north to the south pole are highlighted and analyzed in the diagram. The time dependences were averaged by sliding smoothing over 21 Carrington rotations. Approximation of the time dependences by a sinusoidal function made it possible to distinguish a cyclic component with a period of about 22 years (the period of the Hale magnetic cycle) in weak magnetic fields. The dependence of the 22-year variation on latitude is considered. In addition to the well-known 22-year change in the near-polar field, similar variations were found for fields at all latitudes. The variation amplitude decreased from the poles to the equator, while the variation period remained almost constant (T = 22.3 years). The exceptions were latitudes 26° and 33° in the northern and 26° in the southern hemisphere. These intervals of middle latitudes were distinguished by the predominance of short-period variations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 6.
Fig. 7.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  1. Altrock, R.C., Forecasting the maxima of solar cycle 24 with coronal Fe XIV emission, Sol. Phys., 2014, vol. 289, pp. 623–629.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Getachew, T., Virtanen, I., and Mursula, K., Asymmetric distribution of weak photospheric magnetic field values, Astrophys. J., 2019a, vol. 874, p. 116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Getachew, T., Virtanen, I., and Mursula, K., A new signal of the solar magnetic cycle: Opposite shifts of weak magnetic field distributions in the two hemispheres, Geophys. Res. Lett., 2019b, vol. 46, p. 9327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Gopalswamy, N., Yashiro, S., and Akiyama, S., Unusual polar conditions in solar cycle 24 and their implications for cycle 25, Astrophys. J. Lett., 2016, vol. 823, p. L15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Harvey, J., Measurements of the solar polar magnetic field, 1996. http://www.noao.edu/noao/staff/jharvey/pole.ps.

  6. Jin, C.L. and Wang, J.X., Variation of the solar magnetic flux spectrum during solar cycle 23, J. Geophys. Res.: Space Phys., 2014, vol. 119, pp. 11–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Mordvinov, A.V., Pevtsov, A.A., Bertello, L., and Petrie, G.J.D., The reversal of the Sun’s magnetic field in cycle 24, Sol.-Terr. Phys., 2016, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 3–18.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Mursula, K., Getachew, T., and Virtanen, I., Spatial–temporal evolution of photospheric weak-field shifts in solar cycles 21–24, Astron. Astrophys., 2021, vol. 645, p. A47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Petrie, G.J.D., Solar magnetism in the polar regions, Living Rev. Sol. Phys., 2015, vol. 12, pp. 5–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Sun, X., Hoeksema, J.T., Liu, Y., and Zhao, J., On polar magnetic field reversal and surface flux transport during solar cycle 24, Astrophys. J., 2015, vol. 798, p. 114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Ulrich, R.K. and Tran, T., The global solar magnetic field: Identification of traveling, long-lived ripples, Astrophys. J., 2013, vol. 768, p. 189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Vecchio, A., Laurenza, M., Meduri, D., Carbone, V., and Storini, M., The dynamics of the solar magnetic field: Polarity reversals, butterfly diagram, and quasi-biennial oscillations, Astrophys. J., 2012, vol. 749, p. 27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Vernova, E.S., Tyasto, M.I., Baranov, D.G., and Danilova, O.A., Nonaxisymmetric component of the solar photospheric magnetic field, Geomagn. Aeron. (Engl. Transl.), 2019, vol. 59, no. 8, pp. 1029–1035.

  14. Vernova, E.S., Tyasto, M.I., and Baranov, D.G., Cyclic variations of the polarity of the photospheric magnetic field, Geomagn. Aeron. (Engl. Transl.), 2022, vol. 62, no. 7, pp. 945–951.

  15. Wang, Z.-F., Jiang, J., and Wang, J.-X., The nonuniformity of poleward flux transport on the solar surface: A statistical method applied to solar cycles 21–24, Astrophys. J., 2022, vol. 930, p. 84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank the reviewer for careful reading the article and helpful remarks. The NSO/Kitt Peak data used here are produced cooperatively by NSF/NOAO, NASA/GSFC, and NOAA/SEL (ftp://nispdata.nso.edu/ kpvt/synoptic/mag/). Data acquired by SOLIS instruments were operated by NISP/NSO/AURA/NSF(https://magmap.nso.edu/solis/archive.html

Funding

This work was supported by ongoing institutional funding. No additional grants to carry out or direct thisparticular research were obtained.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. St. Petersburg Branch, Pushkov Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, the Ionosphere and Radio Wave Propagation, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia

    E. S. Vernova & M. I. Tyasto

  2. Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia

    D. G. Baranov

Authors
  1. E. S. Vernova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M. I. Tyasto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. D. G. Baranov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to E. S. Vernova or D. G. Baranov.

Ethics declarations

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note.

Pleiades Publishing remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Vernova, E.S., Tyasto, M.I. & Baranov, D.G. Long-Term Variations of the Magnetic Field of the Solar Photosphere. Geomagn. Aeron. 63, 966–974 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793223070277

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793223070277

Search

Navigation