ASPCS
 
Back to Volume
Paper: Influence of Small-scale Dynamics on Large-scale Solar Activity
Volume: 346, Large-scale Structures and their Role in Solar Activity
Page: 337
Authors: DeRosa, M.
Abstract: The range of dynamical scales of motion within the solar convection zone is estimated to span at least six orders of magnitude in both space and time. Despite such breadth of scales, fluid motions occurring on the smallest spatial and temporal scales are expected to play an important role in the establishment and maintenance of the large-scale differential rotation and meridional flows within the turbulent convection zone. In turn, flows on all scales affect the transport of magnetic fields within the solar interior, causing field to be continually regenerated and redistributed. The surface manifestation of these magnetic fields exhibits a surprising degree of regularity, despite such fields being embedded in an extremely turbulent medium. The largest magnetic fields observed at the surface follow episodic patterns of emergence and evolution that collectively form each activity cycle, but there is also evidence that smaller-scale magnetic fields also possess an imprint of such cyclic behavior. This article focuses on two specific aspects of the coupling between small and large scales on the sun. First, the maintenance of the interior differential rotation by smallscale Reynolds stresses is addressed, followed by an investigation into the effects of small-scale surface magnetism on the strength of the surface dipole and the timing of its reversals.
Back to Volume