Context. It is well known that the polarity of the Sun's magnetic field reverses or flips around the maximum of each 11 year solar cycle. This is commonly known as polar field reversal and plays a key role in deciding the polar field strength at the end of a cycle, which is crucial for the prediction of the upcoming cycle. Aims. To investigate solar polar fields during cycle 24, using measurements of solar magnetic fields in the latitude range 55 • -90 • and 78 • -90 • , to report a prolonged and unusual hemispheric asymmetry in the polar field reversal pattern in solar cycle 24. Methods. This study was carried out using medium resolution line-of-sight synoptic magnetograms from the magnetic database of the National Solar Observatory at Kitt Peak (NSO/KP), USA for the period between February 1975 and October 2017, covering solar cycles 21 -24 and high-resolution line-of-sight synoptic magnetograms from the Michaelson Doppler Imager instrument onboard the Solar Heliospheric Observatory. Synoptic magnetograms using radial measurements from the Heliospheric Magnetic Imager instrument onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory, covering solar cycle 23 and 24, were also used. Results. We show that the Southern solar hemisphere unambiguously reversed polarity in mid-2013 while the reversal in the field in the Northern solar hemisphere started as early as June 2012, was followed by a sustained period of near-zero field strength lasting until the end of 2014, after which the field began to show a clear rise from its near-zero value. While this study compliments a similar study carried out using microwave brightness measurements (Gopalswamy et al. 2016) which claimed that the field reversal process in cycle 24 was completed by the end of 2015, our results show that the field reversal in cycle 24 was completed earlier i.e. in late 2014. Signatures of this unusual field reversal pattern were also clearly identifiable in the solar wind, using our observations of interplanetary scintillation at 327 MHz which supported our magnetic field observations and confirmed that the field reversal process was completed at the end of 2014.

The ratio of the rms electron density fluctuations to the background density in the solar wind (density modulation index, N ≡ ΔN/N) is of vital importance for understanding several problems in heliospheric physics related to solar wind turbulence. In this paper, we have investigated the behavior of N in the inner heliosphere from 0.26 to 0.82 AU. The density fluctuations ΔN have been deduced using extensive ground-based observations of interplanetary scintillation at 327 MHz, which probe spatial scales of a few hundred kilometers. The background densities (N) have been derived using near-Earth observations from the Advanced Composition Explorer. Our analysis reveals that 0.001 N 0.02 and does not vary appreciably with heliocentric distance. We also find that N declines by 8% from 1998 to 2008. We discuss the impact of these findings on problems ranging from our understanding of Forbush decreases to the behavior of the solar wind dynamic pressure over the recent peculiar solar minimum at the end of cycle 23.

We report on the amplitude of the density turbulence spectrum ( CN2) and the density modulation index (δN/N) in the solar wind between 10 and 45R⊙. We derive these quantities using a structure function that is observationally constrained by occultation observations of the Crab nebula made in 2011 and 2013 and similar observations published earlier. We use the most general form of the structure function, together with currently used prescriptions for the inner/dissipation scale of the turbulence spectrum. Our work yields a comprehensive picture (a) of the manner in which CN2 and δN/N vary with heliocentric distance in the solar wind and (b) of the solar cycle dependence of these quantities.

The amplitude of density turbulence in the extended solar corona, especially near the dissipation scale, impinges on several problems of current interest. Radio sources observed through the turbulent solar wind are broadened due to refraction by and scattering off density inhomogeneities, and observations of scatter broadening are often employed to constrain the turbulence amplitude. The extent of such scatter broadening is usually computed using the structure function, which gives a measure of the spatial correlation measured by an interferometer. Most such treatments have employed analytical approximations to the structure function that are valid in the asymptotic limits s ≫ l i or s ≪ l i , where s is the interferometer spacing and l i is the inner scale of the density turbulence spectrum. We instead use a general structure function (GSF) that straddles these regimes, and quantify the errors introduced by the use of these approximations. We have included the effects of anisotropic scattering for distant cosmic sources viewed through the solar wind at small elongations. We show that the regimes where the GSF predictions are more accurate than those of the asymptotic expressions are not only of practical relevance, but are where inner scale effects influence estimates of scatter broadening. Taken together, we argue that the GSF should henceforth be used for scatter broadening calculations and estimates of turbulence amplitudes in the solar corona and solar wind.

An understanding of variations of density modulation index = ΔN/N, the ratio of the electron density fluctuation (ΔN) to the absolute solar wind density ( ), in the inner heliosphere is of vital importance for understanding turbulent dissipation and consequent local heating of solar wind. In addition, the density modulation index plays crucial role in understanding the propagation of energetic electrons, through the heliosphere, produced by solar flares and other explosive solar surface phenomena. We have made a detailed study of in the inner heliosphere spanning the distance range from 0.2 to 0.8 AU, for the period 1998 -2008, covering solar cycle 23. The rms electron density fluctuations (ΔN) have been deduced using ground-based interplanetary scintillation (IPS) observations at 327 MHz from the multi-station IPS observatory, at STEL, Japan. Before deriving ΔN, we have appropriately normalized scintillation measurements to remove the effect of finite source size. The absolute solar wind density ( ), on the other hand, has been obtained from the space-borne Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) mission. However, ACE density measurements are effectively at a distance of 1 AU at the Largangian point L1. Thus, for estimation of density at the location of the relevant scintillating sources, spreading over distances of 0.2 -0.8 AU, the measured ACE densities at 1 AU are extrapolated in the sunward direction using an electron density model. Our analysis shows that does not vary with heliocentric distances and the typical value of ranges from 1% to 10% which is is consistent with the earlier findings. A systematic decline in the solar wind electron density turbulence levels has been reported earlier for the period 1995 to 2008. Our investigation of the long-term temporal variations of over the distance range 0.2 -0.8 AU have also shown a similar decline during the period 1998 -2008. It therefore appears reasonable, from the linear relationship between the density fluctuations and magnetic field fluctuations, to conclude that the decrease in is connected to the unusual solar magnetic activity during the long and deep solar minimum at the end of the solar cycle 23.