Empirical evidences for a planetary modulation of total solar irradiance and the TSI signature of the 1.09-year Earth-Jupiter conjunction cycle

Abstract

The time series of total solar irradiance (TSI) satellite observations since 1978 provided by ACRIM and PMOD TSI composites are studied. We find empirical evidence for planetary-induced forcing and modulation of solar activity. Power spectra and direct data pattern analysis reveal a clear signature of the 1.09-year Earth-Jupiter conjunction cycle, in particular during solar cycle 23 maximum. This appears to suggest that the Jupiter side of the Sun is slightly brighter during solar maxima. The effect is observed when the Earth crosses the Sun-Jupiter conjunction line every 1.09 years. Multiple spectral peaks are observed in the TSI records that are coherent with known planetary harmonics such as the spring, orbital and synodic periods among Mercury, Venus, Earth and Jupiter: the Mercury-Venus spring-tidal cycle (0.20 year); the Mercury orbital cycle (0.24 year); the Venus-Jupiter spring-tidal cycle (0.32 year); the Venus-Mercury synodic cycle (0.40 year); the Venus-Jupiter synodic cycle (0.65 year); and the Venus-Earth spring tidal cycle (0.80 year). Strong evidence is also found for a 0.5-year TSI cycle that could be driven by the Earth's crossing the solar equatorial plane twice a year and may indicate a latitudinal solar-luminosity asymmetry. Because both spring and synodic planetary cycles appear to be present and the amplitudes of their TSI signatures appear enhanced during sunspot cycle maxima, we conjecture that on annual and sub-annual scales both gravitational and electro-magnetic planet-sun interactions and internal non-linear feedbacks may be modulating solar activity. Gravitational tidal forces should mostly stress spring cycles while electro-magnetic forces could be linked to the solar wobbling dynamics, and would mostly stress the synodic cycles. The observed statistical coherence between the TSI records and the planetary harmonics is confirmed by three alternative tests.

Multiscale comparative spectral analysis of satellite total solar irradiance measurements from 2003 to 2013 reveals a planetary modulation of solar activity and its nonlinear dependence on the 11 yr solar cycle

“…Scafetta and Willson (2013b) found similar frequencies using theoretical equations deduced from the ephemerides of the planets such as the tidal potential on the Sun and the speed, jerk force and z-axis coordinate of the Sun relative to the barycenter of the solar system. Statistical tests based on Montecarlo simulations using red-noise generators for TSI synthetic records established that the probability of randomly finding a dynamical sequence manifesting a spectral coherence with the (orbital, spring and synodic) planetary theoretical harmonics equal or larger than that found among the TSI satellite frequencies and the planetary harmonics is less than 0.05% (Scafetta and Willson, 2013b). Table 1.…”

“…This suggests that TSI is modulated at specific frequencies by gravitational and/or electromagnetic forcings linked to the revolution of the planets around the sun. Scafetta and Willson (2013b) found a TSI signature of the 1.092-year Earth-Jupiter conjunction cycle. The TSI oscillation was found to be particularly evident during the maximum of solar cycle 23 (1998-2004) and in phase synchronization with the Earth-Jupiter conjunction cycle that predicts an enhanced effect when the Earth crosses the Sun-Jupiter conjunction line.…”

“…This planetary-solar coupling effect generate the~1.092-year cycle in the TSI record. The 1.092-year cycle signature detected by the satellite TSI observations is enhanced during solar activity maxima and attenuated during solar minima (Scafetta and Willson, 2013b) suggesting complex, non-linear responses of solar internal dynamics to planetary forcings. Here we study the dynamical evolution of the harmonic characteristics of the TSI observations on annual and sub annual time scales.…”

“…: Callebaut et al, 2012;Smythe and Eddy, 1977) have either not been supported by empirical evidence or have based their arguments on overly simplistic Newtonian analytical physics (e.g. : Scafetta, 2012c,d;Scafetta et al, 2013b).…”

“…In a previous publication Scafetta and Willson (2013b) analyzed the power spectra of TSI records since 1992.…”