The solar cycle onset at mid-latitudes, the slow down of the sunspot drift toward the equator, the tail-like attachment and the overlap of successive cycles at the time of activity minimum are delicate issues in $αΩ$ dynamo wave and flux transport dynamo models. Very different parameter values produce similar results, making it difficult to understand the origin of these solar cycle properties. We use GONG helioseismic data to investigate the progression of the solar cycle as observed in intermediate-degree global $p$-mode frequency shifts at different latitudes and subsurface layers, from the beginning of solar cycle 23 up to the maximum of the current solar cycle. We also analyze those for high-degree modes in each hemisphere obtained through the ring-diagram technique of local helioseismology. The analysis highlighted differences in the progression of the cycle below 15\degr\ compared to higher latitudes. While the cycle starts at mid-latitudes and then migrates equatorward/poleward, the sunspot eruptions of the old cycle are still ongoing below 15\degr\ latitude. This prolonged activity causes a delay in the cycle onset and an overlap of successive cycles, whose extension differs in the two hemispheres. Then the activity level rises faster reaching a maximum characterized by a single peak structure compared to the double peak at higher latitudes. Afterwards the descending phase shows up with a slower decay rate. The latitudinal properties of the solar cycle progression highlighted in this study provide useful constraints to discern among the multitude of solar dynamo models.
Using a nonlinear mean-field solar dynamo model, we study relationships between the amplitude of the `extended' mode of migrating zonal flows (`torsional oscillations') and magnetic cycles, and investigate whether properties the torsional oscillations in subsurface layers and in the deep convection zone can provide information about the future solar cycles. We consider two types of dynamo models: models with regular variations of the alpha-effect, and models with stochastic fluctuations, simulating `long'- and 'short-memory' types of magnetic activity variations. It is found that torsional osc…
The change of sound speed has been found at the base of the convection during the solar cycles, which can be used to constrain the solar internal magnetic field. We aim to check whether the magnetic field generated by the solar dynamo can lead to the cyclic variation of the sound speed detected through helioseismology. The basic configuration of magnetic field in the solar interior was obtained by using a Babcock-Leighton (BL) type flux transport dynamo. We reconstructed one-dimensional solar models by assimilating magnetic field generated by an established dynamo and examined their influences…
Observations of the solar magnetic cycle showed that the amplitude of the cycle did not grow all the time in the past. Thus, there must be a mechanism to halt the growth of the magnetic field in the Sun. We demonstrate a recently proposed mechanism for this under the Babcock--Leighton dynamo framework, which is believed to be the most promising paradigm for the generation of the solar magnetic field at present. This mechanism is based on the observational fact that the stronger solar cycles produce bipolar magnetic regions (BMRs) at higher latitudes and thus have higher mean latitudes than the…
The toroidal magnetic field is assumed to be generated in the tachocline in most Babcock-Leighton (BL)-type solar dynamo models, in which the poloidal field is produced by the emergence and subsequent dispersal of sunspot groups. However, magnetic activity of fully convective stars and MHD simulations of global stellar convection have recently raised serious doubts regarding the importance of the tachocline in the generation of the toroidal field. In this study, we aim to develop a new BL-type dynamo model, in which the dynamo operates mainly within the bulk of the convection zone. Our 2D mode…
We studied the presence and spatiotemporal evolution of the quasi-biennial oscillations (QBOs) in the rotation rate residuals at target depths of 0.90$R_{\odot}$, 0.95$R_{\odot}$, and 0.99$R_{\odot}$ and at low (0 -- 30$^{\circ}$), mid (30 -- 50$^{\circ}$), and high (50 -- 70$^{\circ}$) latitudinal bands. To achieve these objectives we used data from the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) on {\it the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory} ({\it SOHO}) and the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on the {\it Solar Dynamics Observatory} ({\it SDO}), covering solar cycles 23 and 24, respectively. The …
The solar gravitational moments $J_{2n}$ are important astronomical quantities whose precise determination is relevant for solar physics, gravitational theory and high precision astrometry and celestial mechanics. Accordingly, we propose in the present work to calculate new values of $J_{2n}$ (for $n$=1,2,3,4 and 5) using recent two-dimensional rotation rates inferred from the high resolution SDO/HMI helioseismic data spanning the whole solar activity cycle 24. To this aim, a general integral equation relating $J_{2n}$ to the solar internal density and rotation is derived from the structure eq…
Helioseismic observations have provided valuable datasets with which to pursue the detailed investigation of solar interior dynamics. Among various methods to analyse these data, normal-mode coupling has proven to be a powerful tool, used to study Rossby waves, differential rotation, meridional circulation, and non-axisymmetric multi-scale subsurface flows. Here, we invert mode-coupling measurements from Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) and Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) to obtain mass-conserving toroidal convective flow as a function of depth, spatial wavenumber, and temporal frequency. To …
Computational heliophysics has shed light on the fundamental physical processes inside the Sun, such as the differential rotation, meridional circulation, and dynamo-generation of magnetic fields. However, despite the substantial advances, the current results of 3D MHD simulations are still far from reproducing helioseismic inferences and surface observations. The reason is the multi-scale nature of the solar dynamics, covering a vast range of scales, which cannot be solved with the current computational resources. In such a situation, significant progress has been achieved by the mean-field a…
In this dissertation, several components of large-scale solar flows are studied observationally: solar equatorial Rossby waves (waves of radial vorticity), large-scale convection, and surface flows around active regions. Maps of horizontal flows are derived from photospheric observations by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) using two different techniques: granulation tracking and local helioseismology. First, the eigenfunctions of solar Rossby waves are measured from helioseismic ring-diagram flow maps with a correlation method and a spectra…
Spatio-temporal analysis of helioseismic quasi-biennial oscillations
Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Warwick（华威大学物理与天体物理融合空间与天文研究中心）；Engineering Research Institute “Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre (VIRAC)”, Ventspils University of Applied Sciences（文茨皮尔斯应用科学大学文茨皮尔斯国际射电天文中心（VIRAC）工程研究所）
The solar magnetic activity cycle has an amplitude that varies within a wide but limited range of values. This implies that there are nonlinear mechanisms that prevent runaway solutions. The purpose of this paper is to propose observable nonlinear mechanisms in the framework of the Babcock-Leighton-type dynamo. Sunspot emergences show systematic properties that strong cycles tend to have higher mean latitudes and lower tilt angle coefficients. We use the surface flux transport model to investigate the effect of these systematic properties on the expected final total dipolar moment, i.e. cancel…
The results of determinations of the azimuthal and meridional velocities by time-distance helioseismology from Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) from May 2010 to September 2020 at latitudes from -60° to +60° and depths to about 19 Mm below the photosphere are used to analyze spatiotemporal variations of the solar differential rotation and meridional circulation. The pattern of torsional oscillations, or latitudinal belts of alternating `fast' and `slow' zonal flows migrating from high latitudes towards the equator, is found to extend in the time--l…
The butterfly diagram of the solar cycle is the equatorward migration of the emergence latitudes of sunspots as the solar cycle evolves. Revealing the mechanism for the butterfly diagram is essential for understanding the solar and stellar dynamo. The equatorward meridional flow at the base of the convection zone (CZ) was believed to be responsible for the butterfly diagram. However, helioseismological studies indicate controversial forms of the flow, and even present poleward flow at the base of the CZ, which poses a big challenge to the widely accepted mechanism. This motivates us to propose…
