Abstract
Dicke (1978) has argued that the phase of the solar cycle appears to be coupled to an internal clock: shorter cycles are usually followed by longer ones, as if the Sun remembers the correct phase. The data set is really too short to demonstrate the presence of a phase memory, but phase and amplitude of the cycle are strongly correlated for 300 yr or more. It is shown that this memory effect can be explained by mean field theory in terms of fluctuations in α, which induce coherent changes in the frequency and amplitude of a dynamo wave. It is concluded that there is neither a strong observational indication nor a theoretical need for an extra timing device, in addition to the one provided by dynamo wave physics.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen, C. W.: 1973, Astrophysical Quantities, The Athlone Press, London.
Barnes, J. A., Sargent, H. H., and Tryon, P. V.: 1980, in R. O. Pepin, J. A. Eddy, and B. R. Merrill (eds.), The Ancient Sun, Pergamon Press, New York, p. 159.
Beer, J., Baumgartner, St., Dittrich-Hannen, B., Hauenstein, J., Kubik, P. W., Lucasczyk, Ch., Mende, W., Stellmacher, R., and Suter, M.: 1994, in J. M. Pap, C. Fröhlich, H. S. Hudson, and S. K. Solanki (eds.), The Sun as a Variable Star, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 291.
Cowling, T. G.: 1981, Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 19, 115.
Damon, P. E. and Sonett, C. P.: 1991, in C. P. Sonett, M. S. Giampapa, and M. S. Matthews (eds.), The Sun in Time, The University of Arizona Press, Tucson, p. 360.
De Jager, C.: 1959, in S. Flügge (ed.), Hbk. der Physik, Band LII, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, p. 80 and p. 322ff.
Dicke, R. H.: 1970, in A. Slettebak (ed.), Stellar Rotation, D. Reidel Publ. Co., Dordrecht, Holland, p. 289.
Dicke, R. H.: 1978, Nature 276, 676.
Dicke, R. H.: 1979, Nature 280, 24.
Eddy, J. A.: 1980, in R. O. Pepin, J. A. Eddy, and B. R. Merrill (eds.), The Ancient Sun, Pergamon Press, New York, p. 119.
Gough, D. O.: 1978, in S. Dumont and J. Rösch (eds.), Pleins Feux sur la Physique Solaire, Editions du CNRS, Paris, p. 81.
Gough, D. O.: 1981, in S. Sofia (ed.), Variations in the Solar Constant, NASA Conf. Publ. 2191, US Govt. Printing Office, Washington, p. 185.
Gough, D. O.: 1988, in G. Castagnoli-Cini (ed.), Solar-Terrestrial Relationships and the Earth Environment in the Last Millennia, Società Italiana di Fisica, p. 90.
Harvey-Angle, K. L.: 1993, ‘Magnetic Bipoles on the Sun’, Thesis (Utrecht), ISBN 90-393-0068- 2.
Hoyng, P.: 1992, in J. T. Schmelz and J. C. Brown (eds.), The Sun, A Laboratory for Astrophysics, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Holland, p. 99.
Hoyng, P.: 1993, Astron. Astrophys. 272, 321.
Hoyng, P.: 1996, in R. Pallavicini and A. K. Dupree (eds.), Cool Stars, Stellar Systems and the Sun, PASP Conf. Series, in press.
Hoyng, P., Schmitt, D., and Teuben, L. J. W.: 1994, Astron. Astrophys. 289, 265.
Kiepenheuer, K. O.: 1953, in G. P. Kuiper (ed.), The Sun, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, p. 322.
Krause, F. and Rädler, K.-H.: 1980, Mean-Field Magnetohydrodynamics and Dynamo Theory, Pergamon Press, Oxford.
Layzer, D., Rosner, R., and Doyle, H. T.: 1979, Astrophys. J. 229, 1126.
Moffatt, H. K.: 1978, Magnetic Field Generation in Electrically Conducting Fluids, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Morfill, G. E., Scheingraber, H., and Voges, W.: 1991, in C. P. Sonett, M. S. Giampapa, and M. S. Matthews (eds.), The Sun in Time, The University of Arizona Press, Tucson, p. 30.
Ossendrijver, A. J. H.: 1996, ‘Fluctuations and Energy Balance in Solar and Stellar Dynamos’, Thesis, Utrecht, ISBN 90-393-1345-8.
Ossendrijver, A. J. H. and Hoyng, P.: 1996, Astron. Astrophys. 313, 959.
Ossendrijver, A. J. H., Hoyng, P., and Schmitt, D.: 1996, Astron. Astrophys. 313, 938.
Piddington, J. H.: 1971, Proc. Astron. Soc. Australia 2, 7.
Piddington, J. H.: 1976, in V. Bumba and J. Kleczek (eds), Basic Mechanisms of Solar Activity, D. Reidel Publ. Co., Dordrecht, Holland, p. 389.
Smith, L. A.: 1988, Phys. Letters 133A, 283.
Sonett, C. P.: 1983, J. Geophys. Res. 88, 3225.
Waldmeier, M.: 1935, Astron. Mitt. Zürich 133, 105.
Waldmeier, M.: 1955, Ergebnisse und Probleme der Sonnenforschung, Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, Leipzig.
Walén, C.: 1946, Arkiv Mat. Astr. Fys. 33A, No. 18, 1.
Walén, C.: 1949, On the Vibratory Rotation of the Sun, Lagerström, Stockholm.
Wolf, R.: 1861, Astr. Mitt. Zürich 12, 41; see p. 76.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Dedicated to Cornelis de Jager
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hoyng, P. Is the solar cycle timed by a clock?. Sol Phys 169, 253–264 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00190603
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00190603