Dora G. Preminger

SOLAR CYCLE 23: AN ANOMALOUS CYCLE?

The latest SOHO VIRGO total solar irradiance (TSI) time series is analyzed using new solar variability measures obtained from full-disk solar images made at the San Fernando Observatory and the Mg II 280 nm index. We discuss the importance of solar cycle 23 as a magnetically simpler cycle and a variant from recent cycles. Our results show the continuing improvement in TSI measurements and surrogates containing information necessary to account for irradiance variability. Use of the best surrogate for irradiance variability due to photospheric features (sunspots and faculae) and chromospheric features (plages and bright network) allows fitting the TSI record to within an rms difference of 130 ppm for the period 1986 to the present. Observations show that the strength of the TSI cycle did not change significantly despite the decrease in sunspot activity in cycle 23 relative to cycle 22. This points to the difficulty of modeling TSI back to times when only sunspot observations were available.

Empirical Modeling of Radiative versus Magnetic Flux for the Sun-as-a-Star

We study the relationship between full-disk solar radiative flux at different wavelengths and average solar photospheric magnetic-flux density, using daily measurements from the Kitt Peak magnetograph and other instruments extending over one or more solar cycles. We use two different statistical methods to determine the underlying nature of these flux – flux relationships. First, we use statistical correlation and regression analysis and show that the relationships are not monotonic for total solar irradiance and for continuum radiation from the photosphere, but are approximately linear for chromospheric and coronal radiation. Second, we use signal theory to examine the flux – flux relationships for a temporal component. We find that a well-defined temporal component exists and accounts for some of the variance in the data. This temporal component arises because active regions with high magnetic-field strength evolve, breaking up into small-scale magnetic elements with low field strength, and radiative and magnetic fluxes are sensitive to different active-region components. We generate empirical models that relate radiative flux to magnetic flux, allowing us to predict spectral-irradiance variations from observations of disk-averaged magnetic-flux density. In most cases, the model reconstructions can account for 85 – 90% of the variability of the radiative flux from the chromosphere and corona. Our results are important for understanding the relationship between magnetic and radiative measures of solar and stellar variability.