[1] The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) originates in open magnetic regions of the Sun (coronal holes), which in turn form mainly through the emergence and dispersal of active region fields. The radial IMF strength is proportional to the total open flux È open , which can be estimated from source surface extrapolations of the measured photospheric field, after correction for magnetograph saturation effects. We derive the long-term variation of È open during 1971-2000 and discuss its relation to sunspot activity. The average value of È open was $20-30% higher during 1976-1996 than during 1971-1976 and 1996-2000, with major peaks occurring in 1982 and 1991. Near sunspot minimum, most of the open flux resides in the large polar coronal holes, whereas at sunspot maximum it is rooted in relatively small, low-latitude holes located near active regions and characterized by strong footpoint fields; since the decrease in the total area occupied by holes is offset by the increase in their average field strengths, È open remains roughly constant between activity minimum and maximum, unlike the total photospheric flux È tot . The long-term variation of È open approximately follows that of the Sun's total dipole strength, with a contribution from the magnetic quadrupole around sunspot maximum. Global fluctuations in sunspot activity lead to increases in the equatorial dipole strength and hence to enhancements in È open and the IMF strength lasting typically $1 year. We employ simulations to clarify the role of active region emergence and photospheric transport processes in the evolution of the open flux. Representing the initial field configuration by one or more bipolar magnetic regions (BMRs), we calculate its subsequent evolution under the influence of differential rotation, supergranular convection, and a poleward bulk flow. The initial value of È open is determined largely by the equatorial dipole strength, which in turn depends on the longitudinal phase relations between the BMRs. As the surface flow carries the BMR flux to higher latitudes, the equatorial dipole is annihilated on a timescale of $1 year by the combined effect of rotational shearing and turbulent diffusion. The remaining flux becomes concentrated around the poles, and È open approaches a limiting value that depends on the axisymmetric dipole strengths of the original BMRs. The polar coronal holes thus represent the longlived, axisymmetric remnant of the active regions that emerged earlier in the cycle.
[1] The Voyager 1 (V1) observations of the heliospheric magnetic field strength B agree with Parker's model of the global heliospheric magnetic field from 1 to 81.0 AU and from 1978 to 2001.34 when one considers the solar cycle variations in the source magnetic field strength and the latitude/time variation in the solar wind speed. In particular, Parker's model, without adjustable parameters, describes the general tendency for B to decrease with increasing distance R from the Sun, the three broad increases of B around 1980, and 2000 , and the minima of B in 1987 . During 1987, B appears to be lower than Parker's model predicts, but that can be attributed to the presence of a heliospheric vortex street at these times and/or uncertainty in the observations. There is no evidence for a significant flux deficit increasing monotonically from 1 to 81.0 AU. By extrapolating these results and considering the limitations of the observations, V1 should continue to make useful measurements during the next few years at least. The magnetic field polarity in the distant heliosphere at V1 and Voyager 2 (V2) changed during the ascending phase of solar cycle 23. In the Northern Hemisphere, V1 observed a decrease in the percentage of positive polarities from %100% during 1997 to %50% during 2000. In the Southern Hemisphere, V2 observed the opposite behavior, an increase in the percentage of positive polarities from %0% during 1997 to %50% during 2000. The variation of magnetic polarity observed by V1 and V2 was caused by the increasing latitudinal width of the sector zone with increasing solar activity, which in turn was related to the increasing maximum latitudinal extent and the decreasing minimum latitudinal extent of the footprints of the heliospheric current sheet (HCS). There was a tendency for the speed and proton temperature to decrease and the density to increase at V2 from 1997 (when it observed flows from polar coronal holes) to 2001 (when it observed more complex and dynamic flows).
[1] We use the observed photospheric field maps and the wind speed observed from Ulysses to study the out-of-ecliptic solar wind. The model calculates the wind speed from the rate of magnetic flux tube expansion factors using a conversion function that is determined by least squares fit of all currently available data from Ulysses. Using the best fit conversion function, we investigate the global solar wind covering a 36-year period from 1968 through 2003. The results complement and expand upon earlier studies conducted with interplanetary scintillation and other in situ spacecraft observations. The rotationally averaged wind speed is a function of two parameters: the heliolatitude and the phase of the solar cycle. The out-of-ecliptic solar wind has a recurrent stable structure, and the average wind speed varies like a sine square of latitude profile spanning more than 5 years during the declining phase and solar minimum in each solar cycle. Ulysses has observed this stable structure in its first polar orbit in 1992-1997. Near solar maximum the structure of the out-of-ecliptic solar wind is in a transient state lasting 2-3 years when the stable structure breaks down during the disappearance and reappearance of the polar coronal holes.
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