Rotation of the Coronal Magnetic Field
Abstract
The coronal magnetic field rotates differently than photosphere. The field configuration of the corona can be calculated from the observed photospheric field using a potential field model. Correlation of the field patterns at different latitudes with a lag near one solar rotation shows much less differential rotation than observed in the photospheric field; however, the peak is very broad and determines the rotation rate rather poorly. Consideration of longer lags reveals a more complex rotational structure and indicates different rotation rates in the northern and southern hemispheres. Spectral analysis of the equatorial dipole component of the coronal field reveals an organization into just a few discrete rotation frequencies which are apparently present simultaneously. Spectral analysis of the field at different latitudes shows that the frequencies are present simultaneously. Spectral analysis of the field at different latitudes shows that the frequencies are present simultaneously, but in different hemispheres, and that the southern hemisphere fields rotate more slowly than those in the north in solar cycle 21.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1986
- Accession Number
- ADA174729
Entities
People
- J. T. Hoeksema
- Philip Scherrer
Organizations
- Stanford University