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Paper: The Formation and Evolution of Complexes of Activity, Activity Nests, and the Large-scale Connectivity in the Solar Corona
Volume: 346, Large-scale Structures and their Role in Solar Activity
Page: 129
Authors: Benevolenskaya, E.
Abstract: The historical review of the investigations of the formation and evolution of the complexes of solar activity is presented. The old data (sunspot and magnetic field distributions) and the new data of YOHKOH and SOHO space mission display the whole picture of the solar activity at different levels (photosphere, transition region and corona). They reveal large-scale connectivity within the complexes of solar activity and display the evolution of large-scale magnetic field in corona during the solar cycles. Carrington was first who (1863) introduced the latitude-longitude coordinate system and suspected that sunspots were not distributed randomly over solar longitudes. This phenomenon was con- firmed by many other observers who used the term Active longitudes or Active longitudinal zones, or Activity nests to describe the longitudinal zones where large sunspots (greater than 500 microhemispheres) tend to reappear during long periods of more than several years (Vitinskii, 1982). Nowadays, several different terms are used for describing non-uniform longitudinal distributions of the solar activity. Usually, the active longitudes are explained by the existence of the non-axisymmetrical magnetic field which has roots in the interior of the sun. The non-axisymmetrical magnetic field appears to be at photosphere, corona and heliosphere. In the heliosphere we observe the well-known sector structure of the interplanetary magnetic field as a consequence of the solar non-axisymmetrical magnetic field.
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