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The phase variations of the solar cycle

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Abstract

It has previously been shown that the statistics of the phase fluctuation of the sunspot cycle are compatible with the assumption that the solar magnetic field is generated deep in the Sun by a frequency stable oscillator and that the observed substantial phase fluctuation in the sunspot cycle is due to variation in the time required for the magnetic field to move to the solar surface (Dicke, 1978, 1979). It was shown that the observed phase shifts are strongly correlated with the amplitude of the solar cycle. It is shown here that of two empirical models for the transport of magnetic flux to the surface, the best fit to the data is obtained with a model for which the magnetic flux is carried to the surface by convection with the convection velocity proportional to a function of the solar cycle amplitude. The best fit of this model to the data is obtained for a 12-yr transit time. The period obtained for the solar cycle is T = 22.219 ± 0.032 yr. It is shown that the great solar anomaly of 1760–1800 is most likely real and not due to poor data.

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  1. Joseph Henry Laboratories, Physics Department, Princeton University, 08540, Princeton, NJ, U.S.A.

    R. H. Dicke

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  1. R. H. Dicke
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Dicke, R.H. The phase variations of the solar cycle. Sol Phys 115, 171–181 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00146238

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00146238

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