Scientists: Solar cycles are linked to magnetic instability near the surface

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A team of physicists has discovered that cycles of solar activity and associated changes in the structure of the Sun's magnetic fields are linked to the emergence of foci of magnetic instability in the Sun's surface layers.

Keaton Burner, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says: “For a long time we believed that the Sun’s magnetic field, and various periodic aspects of its activity, are generated by the movement of plasma in the lower layers of the Sun’s convection zone. We have proposed an alternative theory that better explains the existence of the Sun’s magnetic field and turbulent processes.” associated with it.”

The researchers point out that physicists and astronomers have long been interested in how the solar magnetic field arises and why it is linked to cycles of solar flare activity that last 11 years, in addition to many of its other characteristics. Scientists have previously assumed that the sun's magnetic field is generated by the so-called solar dynamo, which is a complex plasma rotation within the so-called convection zone, which is one of the deep layers of the sun.

According to Burns, the theory explains many features of the structure of the Sun's core and the periodic nature of its activity. However, its predictions differ significantly from observational data regarding the magnetic field and the Sun's core. American and European physicists have discovered that these contradictions can be avoided if we assume that the Sun's magnetic field does not originate in its depths, but rather in the layers near the surface.

Physicists' calculations showed that its source is special centers of magnetic instability that arise at a depth of 35-70 kilometers from the surface of the Sun as a result of magnetic interactions between the flows of the Sun's liquid matter that revolve around the center. The appearance of centers of instability leads to the formation of turbulent flows of matter in the depths of the Sun, the subsequent movements of which form the complex magnetic field of the Sun.

Calculations conducted by scientists have shown that computer modeling of the Sun's core, taking into account the presence of centers of instability, is able to explain the presence of so-called torsional oscillations of the solar magnetic field, the migration of spots on its surface, in addition to many of its other properties that are difficult to calculate using the theory of the solar dynamo. , including prolonged low solar activity. This, according to them, supports the validity of their alternative theory.

It should be noted that, as a general rule, the level of solar activity constantly rises and falls over periods of about 11 years. That is, the current 25th cycle of solar activity will continue until the year 2030, and will reach its peak in July 2025. The last long “hibernation” of the Sun began at the end of September 2017 and ended in May 2020.