On sunspot “royal zone” and two maxima of solar cycle

Abstract

Cyclic regeneration of the large-scale magnetic field of the Sun underlies all the phenomena known collectively as “solar activity”. The sunspot cycle is arguably the best known manifestation of the solar magnetic cycle. We outlined here the scenario of reconstructing of toroidal magnetic field in the solar convection zone (SCZ), which, on our opinion, may help to understand why magnetic fields rise to the solar surface only in the sunspot “royal zone” and what is reason of the phenomenon of double maximum of sunspots cycle. The effect of magnetic pumping (advection) caused by radial inhomogeneity of matter with taking into account Sun’s rotation, in conjunction with deep meridional circulation, play a key role in proposed scenario. Magnetic buoyancy constrains the magnitude of toroidal field produced by the Ω effect near the bottom of the SCZ. Therefore, we examined two “antibuoyancy” effects: macroscopic turbulent diamagnetism and magnetic advection caused by radial inhomogeneity of fluid density in the SCZ, which we call as the ∇ρ effect. The Sun’s rotation substantially modifies the ∇ρ effect. The reconstructing of the toroidal field was examined assuming the balance between mean-field magnetic buoyancy, turbulent diamagnetism and the rotationally modified ∇ρ effect. We found that the reconstructing of large-scale magnetism develops differently in the near-polar and equatorial domains of the SCZ. In the near-polar domain, two downward pumping effects (macroscopic diamagnetism and rotational pumping) act against magnetic buoyancy and, as a result, they neutralize magnetic buoyancy and block the toroidal field (which is generated by the Ω effect) near the tachocline. Therefore, these two antibuoyancy effects might be the reason why sunspots at the near-polar zones are never observed. In other words, strong deep-seated fields at high latitudes may well be there, but they not produce sunspots. At the same time, in the deep layers of the equatorial domain, the rotational turbulent pumping due to the latitudinal convection anisotropy changes its direction to the opposite one (from downward to upward), thereby facilitating the migration of the field to the surface. We call this transport as first (upward) magnetic advection surge. The fragments of this floating up field can be observed after a while as sunspots at latitudes of the “royal zone”. Meanwhile, a deep equator-ward meridional flow ensures transporting of deep-seated toroidal field, which is blocked near pole in tachocline, from high latitudes to low ones where are favourable conditions for the floating up of the strong field. Here this belated strong field is transported upward to solar surface (the second upward magnetic advection surge). Ultimately, two time-delayed upward magnetic surges may cause on the surface in the “royal zone” the first and second maxima of sunspots cycle.