The Large-Scale Structures Of The Quiet-Sun Photosphere

Abstract

The area density distribution of bright photospheric points on the quiet solar surface is not uniform. The distributions show some considerable pecularities. This article is a study of their characteristics during the four last solar activity minima in Bartels longitudes. The bright-photospheric-point distributions on the equatorial and polar solar surface exhibit a type of sectoral-hemispherical asymmetry. The density distributions vary a lot, but have the tendency to alternate with a period of 22 years. The phase origin of density concentrations is the first structural pecularity of the photospheric point distributions. The simultaneous appearance of bright regions on the equatorial and polar solar surface in spatial antiphase lock and, at the same time, the half-phase shift (≈11 years) between polar and equatorial cycles suggests a synchronous distribution process. This time synchronization is the second important pecularity of density concentrations. Therefore, the solar activity organization in minima occurs according to strict synchronization, like being under the control of a very precise clock.