Solar dynamo

The process by which flows and magnetic fields inside the Sun sustain and regenerate its magnetic activity, including the solar cycle.

Differential rotation: A rotation pattern in which angular speed varies with position within an object. The Sun’s latitude-dependent rotation shears magnetic fields, converting poloidal field into toroidal field.
Magnetohydrodynamics: The study of electrically conducting fluids interacting with magnetic fields. It supplies the fluid-and-field equations used to describe solar dynamo action.
Solar cycle: The roughly 11-year variation in solar activity, including sunspot numbers and magnetic configuration. Its recurring activity pattern is the clearest large-scale expression of the solar dynamo.
Babcock–Leighton dynamo: A solar dynamo model in which decaying tilted bipolar regions regenerate the Sun’s poloidal magnetic field. It offers a surface-based route for rebuilding the field, unlike wholly local turbulent regeneration.
Helioseismology: The study of the Sun’s interior using oscillations observed at its surface. It constrains internal rotation and flows that dynamo models need to reproduce.
Solar convection zone: The outer solar layer in which energy is transported mainly by rising and sinking plasma. Its turbulent plasma motions help regenerate the magnetic field through dynamo action.
Solar interior: The layers beneath the Sun’s visible surface, from its core to its outer atmosphere. The dynamo operates in the interior, where plasma flows and magnetic fields interact.
Hale cycle: The roughly 22-year cycle over which the Sun’s global magnetic polarity returns to its original orientation. It captures the full magnetic reversal that an 11-year activity count alone misses.
Mean-field dynamo theory: A framework that models large-scale magnetic-field evolution using averaged fluid motions and turbulent effects. Its turbulent electromotive force provides a distinct account of poloidal-field regeneration.
Solar meridional circulation: Large-scale north–south circulation in the Sun’s convection zone. Its depth, structure, and cycle-to-cycle variation affect flux-transport predictions.

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