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A mechanism of helicity variations on the Sun

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Abstract

Helicity of solar magnetic fields plays an important role in dynamo theories of the solar cycle. The helicity has been known to vary with the main 11-year period (Hale's cycle). Recent observations have revealed significant helicity variations on a shorter time scale, with a characteristic period of approximately 2 years. We suggest an explanation for the observed variations of the magnetic helicity, based on our model of the double magnetic cycle of solar activity. The quasi-biennial variations of the helicity are the consequence of the influence of erupted magnetic fields of the main cycle on the helicity in the regions of generation of the high-frequency component of magnetic field. This model suggests that the low-frequency component is generated at the base of the convective zone due to large-scale radial shear ∂Ω/∂r of angular velocity Ω. The high-frequency component may be generated in the subsurface region due to latitudinal shear ∂Ω/∂θ or due to the radial shear in this region.

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  1. Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory, St. Petersburg, 196140, Russia

    Elena E. Benevolenskaya

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  1. Elena E. Benevolenskaya
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Benevolenskaya, E.E. A mechanism of helicity variations on the Sun. Solar Physics 191, 247–255 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005211501835

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