Abstract
The interplanetary magnetic field near 1 AU has a characteristic “sector” structure that reflects its polarity relative to the solar direction. Typically we observe large-scale coherence in these directions, with two or four “away” or “towards” sectors per solar rotation, from any platform in deep space and near the ecliptic plane. In a simple picture, this morphology simply reflects the idea that the sources of the interplanetary field lie mainly in or near the Sun, and that the solar-wind flow enforces a radial component in this field. The sector boundaries are sharply defined in the interplanetary field near one AU, but have more complicated sources within the Sun itself. Recent evidence confirms that the origins of this pattern also appear statistically at the level of the photosphere, with signatures found in the highly concentrated fields of sunspots and even solar flares. This complements the associations already known between the interplanetary sectors and large-scale coronal structures (i.e., the streamers). This association with small-scale fields strengthens at the Hale sector boundary, defining the Hale boundary as the one for which the polarity switch matches that of the leading-to-following polarity alternation in the sunspots of a given hemisphere. Surface features that appear 4.5 days prior to the sector crossings observed at 1 AU correlate with this sense of polarity reversal.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
H. Alfvén, On the theory of comet tails. Tellus 9, 92 (1957)
M.D. Altschuler, G. Newkirk, Magnetic fields and the structure of the solar corona. I: Methods of calculating coronal fields. Sol. Phys. 9, 131–149 (1969). doi:10.1007/BF00145734
J.J. Aly, How much energy can be stored in a three-dimensional force-free magnetic field? Astrophys. J. Lett. 375, 61–64 (1991). doi:10.1086/186088
M. Amenomori, Z. Cao, L.K. Ding, Z.Y. Feng, K. Hibino, N. Hotta, Q. Huang, A.X. Huo, H.G. Jia, G.Z. Jiang, S.Q. Jiao, F. Kajino, K. Kasahara, Labaciren, D.M. Mei, L. Meng, X.R. Meng, Mimaciren, K. Mizutani, J. Mu, H. Nanjo, M. Nishizawa, Nusang, A. Oguro, M. Ohnishi, I. Ohta, T. Ouchi, J.R. Ren, T. Saito, M. Sakata, Z.Z. Shi, M. Shibata, T. Shirai, H. Sugimoto, X.X. Sun, K. Taira, Y.H. Tan, N. Tateyama, S. Torii, H. Wang, C.Z. Wen, Y. Yamamoto, X.Y. Yao, G.C. Yu, P. Yuan, T. Yuda, J.G. Zeng, C.S. Zhang, H.M. Zhang, L. Zhang, Zhasang, Zhaxiciren, W.D. Zhou, Direct evidence of the interplanetary magnetic field effect on the cosmic-ray shadow by the Sun. Astrophys. J. Lett. 415, 147 (1993). doi:10.1086/187054
M. Amenomori, X.J. Bi, D. Chen, T.L. Chen, W.Y. Chen, S.W. Cui, Danzengluobu, L.K. Ding, C.F. Feng, Z.h. Feng, Z.Y. Feng, Q.B. Gou, Y.Q. Guo, K. Hakamada, H.H. He, Z.T. He, K. Hibino, N. Hotta, H. Hu, H.H. Hu, J. Huang, H.Y. Jia, L. Jiang, F. Kajino, K. Kasahara, Y. Katayose, C. Kato, K. Kawata, Labaciren, G.M. Le, A.F. Li, H.J. Li, W.J. Li, C. Liu, J.S. Liu, M.Y. Liu, H. Lu, X.R. Meng, K. Mizutani, K. Munakata, H. Nanjo, M. Nishizawa, M. Ohnishi, I. Ohta, H. Onuma, S. Ozawa, X.L. Qian, X.B. Qu, T. Saito, T.Y. Saito, M. Sakata, T.K. Sako, J. Shao, M. Shibata, A. Shiomi, T. Shirai, H. Sugimoto, M. Takita, Y.H. Tan, N. Tateyama, S. Torii, H. Tsuchiya, S. Udo, H. Wang, H.R. Wu, L. Xue, Y. Yamamoto, Z. Yang, S. Yasue, A.F. Yuan, T. Yuda, L.M. Zhai, H.M. Zhang, J.L. Zhang, X.Y. Zhang, Y. Zhang, Y. Zhang, Y. Zhang, Zhaxisangzhu, X.X. Zhou, Probe of the solar magnetic field using the “cosmic-ray shadow” of the Sun. Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 011101 (2013). doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.011101. http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.011101
S.K. Antiochos, C.R. DeVore, J.T. Karpen, Z. Mikić, Structure and dynamics of the Sun’s open magnetic field. Astrophys. J. 671, 936–946 (2007). doi:10.1086/522489
S.K. Antiochos, Z. Mikić, V.S. Titov, R. Lionello, J.A. Linker, A model for the sources of the slow solar wind. Astrophys. J. 731, 112 (2011). doi:10.1088/0004-637X/731/2/112
S.K. Antiochos, J.A. Linker, R. Lionello, Z. Mikić, V. Titov, T.H. Zurbuchen, The structure and dynamics of the corona–heliosphere connection. Space Sci. Rev. 172, 169–185 (2012). doi:10.1007/s11214-011-9795-7
E. Antonucci, L. Svalgaard, Green corona and solar sector structure. Sol. Phys. 36, 115–120 (1974). doi:10.1007/BF00151551
M.J. Aschwanden, Nonlinear force-free magnetic field fitting to coronal loops with and without stereoscopy. Astrophys. J. 763, 115 (2013). doi:10.1088/0004-637X/763/2/115
M.J. Aschwanden, N.V. Nitta, J.-P. Wuelser, J.R. Lemen, First 3D reconstructions of coronal loops with the STEREO A+B spacecraft. II. Electron density and temperature measurements. Astrophys. J. 680, 1477–1495 (2008a). doi:10.1086/588014
M.J. Aschwanden, J.-P. Wülser, N.V. Nitta, J.R. Lemen, First three-dimensional reconstructions of coronal loops with the STEREO A and B spacecraft. I. Geometry. Astrophys. J. 679, 827–842 (2008b). doi:10.1086/529542
H.W. Babcock, The solar magnetograph. Astrophys. J. 118, 387 (1953). doi:10.1086/145767
H.W. Babcock, The topology of the Sun’s magnetic field and the 22-YEAR cycle. Astrophys. J. 133, 572 (1961). doi:10.1086/147060
H.W. Babcock, The Sun’s magnetic field. Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 1, 41 (1963). doi:10.1146/annurev.aa.01.090163.000353
W.G. Baker, D.F. Martyn, Electric currents in the ionosphere. I. The conductivity. R. Soc. Lond. Philos. Trans. Ser. A 246, 281–294 (1953). doi:10.1098/rsta.1953.0016
A. Balogh, G. Erdős, The heliospheric magnetic field. Space Sci. Rev. 176, 177–215 (2013). doi:10.1007/s11214-011-9835-3
B. Bell, A long-term North-South asymmetry in the location of solar sources of great geomagnetic storms. Smithson. Contrib. Astrophys. 5, 187 (1962)
L. Biermann, Solar corpuscular radiation and the interplanetary gas. Observatory 77, 109–110 (1957)
J.M. Borrero, K. Ichimoto, Magnetic structure of sunspots. Living Rev. Sol. Phys. 8, 4 (2011). doi:10.12942/lrsp-2011-4
J.W. Brosius, S.M. White, Radio measurements of the height of strong coronal magnetic fields above sunspots at the solar limb. Astrophys. J. Lett. 641, 69–72 (2006). doi:10.1086/503774
G.W. Clark, Arrival directions of cosmic-ray air showers from the northern sky. Phys. Rev. 108, 450–457 (1957). doi:10.1103/PhysRev.108.450. http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRev.108.450
W.A. Coles, B.J. Rickett, IPS observations of the solar wind speed out of the ecliptic. J. Geophys. Res. 81, 4797–4799 (1976). doi:10.1029/JA081i025p04797
M.L. De Rosa, C.J. Schrijver, G. Barnes, K.D. Leka, B.W. Lites, M.J. Aschwanden, T. Amari, A. Canou, J.M. McTiernan, S. Régnier, J.K. Thalmann, G. Valori, M.S. Wheatland, T. Wiegelmann, M.C.M. Cheung, P.A. Conlon, M. Fuhrmann, B. Inhester, T. Tadesse, A critical assessment of nonlinear force-free field modeling of the solar corona for active region 10953. Astrophys. J. 696, 1780–1791 (2009). doi:10.1088/0004-637X/696/2/1780
P.H. Dittmer, The relationship between solar flares and solar sector boundaries. Sol. Phys. 41, 227–231 (1975). doi:10.1007/BF00152969
L.A. Fisk, N.A. Schwadron, The behavior of the open magnetic field of the Sun. Astrophys. J. 560, 425–438 (2001). doi:10.1086/322503
L.A. Fisk, L. Zhao, The heliospheric magnetic field and the solar wind during the solar cycle, in IAU Symposium, ed. by N. Gopalswamy, D.F. Webb. IAU Symposium, vol. 257 (2009), pp. 109–120. doi:10.1017/S1743921309029160
R.A. Frazin, P. Lamy, A. Llebaria, A.M. Vásquez, Three-dimensional electron density from tomographic analysis of LASCO-C2 images of the K-corona total brightness. Sol. Phys. 265, 19–30 (2010). doi:10.1007/s11207-010-9557-9
E. Friis-Christensen, K. Lassen, J.M. Wilcox, W. Gonzalez, D.S. Colburn, Interplanetary magnetic sector polarity from polar geomagnetic field observations. Nat. Phys. Sci. 233, 48–50 (1971). doi:10.1038/physci233048a0
A. Gulbrandsen, On the variation of the coronal λ5303 intensity relative to the interplanetary and solar magnetic sector structure, and to geomagnetic activity. Planet. Space Sci. 21, 703–707 (1973). doi:10.1016/0032-0633(73)90086-X
J.T. Hoeksema, J.M. Wilcox, P.H. Scherrer, The structure of the heliospheric current sheet—1978–1982. J. Geophys. Res. 88, 9910–9918 (1983). doi:10.1029/JA088iA12p09910
R.F. Howard, Solar active regions as diagnostics of subsurface conditions. Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 34, 75–110 (1996). doi:10.1146/annurev.astro.34.1.75
R.B. Leighton, Transport of magnetic fields on the Sun. Astrophys. J. 140, 1547 (1964). doi:10.1086/148058
R.B. Leighton, A magneto-kinematic model of the solar cycle. Astrophys. J. 156, 1 (1969). doi:10.1086/149943
I.M. Livshits, V.N. Obridko, Variations of the dipole magnetic moment of the sun during the solar activity cycle. Astron. Rep. 50, 926–935 (2006). doi:10.1134/S1063772906110060
M. Lockwood, Reconstruction and prediction of variations in the open solar magnetic flux and interplanetary conditions. Living Rev. Sol. Phys. 10, 4 (2013). doi:10.12942/lrsp-2013-4
M. Lockwood, M. Owens, A.P. Rouillard, Excess open solar magnetic flux from satellite data: 2. A survey of kinematic effects. J. Geophys. Res. (Space Phys.) 114, 11104 (2009). doi:10.1029/2009JA014450
D. Mackay, A. Yeates, The Sun’s global photospheric and coronal magnetic fields: observations and models. Living Rev. Sol. Phys. 9, 6 (2012). doi:10.12942/lrsp-2012-6
S.M. Mansurov, New evidence of a relationship between magnetic fields in space and on Earth. Geomagn. Aeron. 9, 622 (1970)
K. Mursula, T. Hiltula, Bashful ballerina: southward shifted heliospheric current sheet. Geophys. Res. Lett. 30, 2135 (2003). doi:10.1029/2003GL018201
H. Nevanlinna, Gauss’s H-variometer at the Helsinki magnetic observatory 1844–1912. J. Geomagn. Geoelectr. 49(10), 1209–1215 (1997). doi:10.5636/jgg.49.1209
D. Odstrčil, V.J. Pizzo, J.A. Linker, P. Riley, R. Lionello, Z. Mikić, Initial coupling of coronal and heliospheric numerical magnetohydrodynamic codes. J. Atmos. Sol.-Terr. Phys. 66, 1311–1320 (2004). doi:10.1016/j.jastp.2004.04.007
M.J. Owens, R.J. Forsyth, The heliospheric magnetic field. Living Rev. Sol. Phys. 10, 5 (2013). doi:10.12942/lrsp-2013-5
M.J. Owens, N.U. Crooker, M. Lockwood, How is open solar magnetic flux lost over the solar cycle? J. Geophys. Res. (Space Phys.) 116, 4111 (2011). doi:10.1029/2010JA016039
M.J. Owens, C.N. Arge, N.U. Crooker, N.A. Schwadron, T.S. Horbury, Estimating total heliospheric magnetic flux from single-point in situ measurements. J. Geophys. Res. (Space Phys.) 113, 12103 (2008). doi:10.1029/2008JA013677
E.N. Parker, Dynamics of the interplanetary gas and magnetic fields. Astrophys. J. 128, 664 (1958). doi:10.1086/146579
E.R. Priest, P. Démoulin, Three-dimensional magnetic reconnection without null points. 1. Basic theory of magnetic flipping. J. Geophys. Res. 100, 23443–23464 (1995). doi:10.1029/95JA02740
R.L. Rosenberg, P.J. Coleman Jr., Heliographic latitude dependence of the dominant polarity of the interplanetary magnetic field. J. Geophys. Res. 74, 5611 (1969). doi:10.1029/JA074i024p05611
K.H. Schatten, J.M. Wilcox, N.F. Ness, A model of interplanetary and coronal magnetic fields. Sol. Phys. 6, 442–455 (1969). doi:10.1007/BF00146478
M. Schulz, Interplanetary sector structure and the heliomagnetic equator. Astrophys. Space Sci. 24, 371–383 (1973). doi:10.1007/BF02637162
J.A. Simpson, M. Zhang, S. Bame, A solar polar North-South asymmetry for cosmic-ray propagation in the heliosphere: the ULYSSES pole-to-pole rapid transit. Astrophys. J. Lett. 465, 69 (1996). doi:10.1086/310127
E.J. Smith, A. Balogh, Ulysses observations of the radial magnetic field. Geophys. Res. Lett. 22, 3317–3320 (1995). doi:10.1029/95GL02826
P.A. Sturrock, Maximum energy of semi-infinite magnetic field configurations. Astrophys. J. 380, 655–659 (1991). doi:10.1086/170620
L. Svalgaard, Sector structure of the interplanetary magnetic field and daily variation of the geomagnetic field at high latitudes. Danish Met. Inst. Geophys. Papers R-6 (1968)
L. Svalgaard, Interplanetary magnetic-sector structure, 1926–1971. J. Geophys. Res. 77, 4027 (1972). doi:10.1029/JA077i022p04027
L. Svalgaard, Polar cap magnetic variations and their relationship with the interplanetary magnetic sector structure. J. Geophys. Res. 78, 2064 (1973). doi:10.1029/JA078i013p02064
L. Svalgaard, J.M. Wilcox, Long-term evolution of solar sector structure. Sol. Phys. 41, 461–475 (1975). doi:10.1007/BF00154083
L. Svalgaard, J.M. Wilcox, The Hale solar sector boundary. Sol. Phys. 49, 177–185 (1976). doi:10.1007/BF00221492
L. Svalgaard, I.G. Hannah, H.S. Hudson, Flaring solar Hale sector boundaries. Astrophys. J. 733, 49 (2011). doi:10.1088/0004-637X/733/1/49
L. Svalgaard, J.M. Wilcox, T.L. Duvall, A model combining the polar and the sector structured solar magnetic fields. Sol. Phys. 37, 157–172 (1974). doi:10.1007/BF00157852
L. Svalgaard, J.M. Wilcox, P.H. Scherrer, R. Howard, The Sun’s magnetic sector structure. Sol. Phys. 45, 83–91 (1975). doi:10.1007/BF00152219
G.S. Vaiana, A.S. Krieger, A.F. Timothy, Identification and analysis of structures in the corona from X-ray photography. Sol. Phys. 32, 81–116 (1973). doi:10.1007/BF00152731
J.E. Vernazza, E.H. Avrett, R. Loeser, Structure of the solar chromosphere. III—Models of the EUV brightness components of the quiet-Sun. Astrophys. J. Suppl. 45, 635–725 (1981). doi:10.1086/190731
M.V. Vokhmyanin, D.I. Ponyavin, Sector structure of the interplanetary magnetic field in the nineteenth century. Geophys. Res. Lett. 40, 3512–3516 (2013). doi:10.1002/grl.50749
Y.-M. Wang, Solar cycle variation of the Sun’s low-order magnetic multipoles: heliospheric consequences. Space Sci. Rev. (2014). doi:10.1007/s11214-014-0051-9
Y.-M. Wang, E. Robbrecht, Asymmetric sunspot activity and the southward displacement of the heliospheric current sheet. Astrophys. J. 736, 136 (2011). doi:10.1088/0004-637X/736/2/136
Y.-M. Wang, N.R. Sheeley Jr., Magnetic flux transport and the Sun’s dipole moment—new twists to the Babcock-Leighton model. Astrophys. J. 375, 761–770 (1991). doi:10.1086/170240
Y.-M. Wang, N.R. Sheeley Jr., On the fluctuating component of the Sun’s large-scale magnetic field. Astrophys. J. 590, 1111–1120 (2003). doi:10.1086/375026
Y.-M. Wang, J. Lean, N.R. Sheeley, The long-term variation of the Sun’s open magnetic flux. Geophys. Res. Lett. 27(4), 505–508 (2000). doi:10.1029/1999GL010744. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/1999GL010744
J.M. Wilcox, Inferring the interplanetary magnetic field by observing the polar geomagnetic field. Rev. Geophys. Space Phys. 10, 1003–1014 (1972). doi:10.1029/RG010i004p01003
J.M. Wilcox, R. Howard, A large-scale pattern in the solar magnetic field. Sol. Phys. 5, 564–574 (1968). doi:10.1007/BF00147021
J.M. Wilcox, N.F. Ness, Quasi-stationary corotating structure in the interplanetary medium. J. Geophys. Res. 70, 5793–5805 (1965). doi:10.1029/JZ070i023p05793
S. Yashiro, S. Akiyama, N. Gopalswamy, R.A. Howard, Different power-law indices in the frequency distributions of flares with and without coronal mass ejections. Astrophys. J. Lett. 650, 143–146 (2006). doi:10.1086/508876
A.R. Yeates, Coronal magnetic field evolution from 1996 to 2012: continuous non-potential simulations. Sol. Phys. 289, 631–648 (2014). doi:10.1007/s11207-013-0301-0
X. Zhao, J.T. Hoeksema, Predicting the heliospheric magnetic field using the current sheet-source surface model. Adv. Space Res. 16, 181 (1995). doi:10.1016/0273-1177(95)00331-8
T.H. Zurbuchen, A new view of the coupling of the Sun and the heliosphere. Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 45(1), 297–338 (2007). doi:10.1146/annurev.astro.45.010807.154030. http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.astro.45.010807.154030
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hudson, H.S., Svalgaard, L., Hannah, I.G. (2015). Solar Sector Structure. In: Balogh, A., Hudson, H., Petrovay, K., von Steiger, R. (eds) The Solar Activity Cycle. Space Sciences Series of ISSI, vol 53. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2584-1_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2584-1_2
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-2583-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-2584-1
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)