2010/03/21 by Leyan Lo, Lo, Leyan, Todd Hoeksema +4 · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies #Solar Radiation and Photovoltaics #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR) #astro-ph.SR
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1003.3981
4 pages, 5 figures, SOHO-23: Understanding a Peculiar Solar Minimum
arxiv created 2010/03/21 · openalex publication_date 2010/03/21 · arxiv updated 2010/03/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Thirty-four years of WSO (Wilcox Solar Observatory) and thirteen years of SOHO/MDI (Michelson Doppler Imager on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) magnetograms have been studied to measure the east-west inclination angle, indicating the toroidal component of the photospheric magnetic field. This analysis reveals that the large-scale toroidal component of the global magnetic field is antisymmetric around the equator and reverses direction in regions associated with flux from one solar cycle compared to the next. The toroidal field revealed the first early signs of cycle 24 at high latitudes, especially in the northern hemisphere, appearing as far back as 2003 in the WSO data and 2004 in MDI. As in previous cycles, the feature moves gradually equatorward. Cycles overlap and the pattern associated with each cycle lasts about 17 years. Even though the polar field at the current solar minimum is significantly lower than the three previous minima, the toroidal field pattern is similar.