Effects of cyclic fluctuations in meridional circulation using a low order dynamo model

TL;DR

This paper investigates how cyclic fluctuations in the large-scale meridional circulation influence the solar magnetic cycle using a simplified flux transport dynamo model, highlighting the effects of flow variations on cycle strength and shape.

Contribution

It introduces a low-order dynamo model with a time-dependent meridional flow based on recent observations, analyzing its impact on solar cycle characteristics.

Findings

Flow amplitude variations affect cycle strength.

Frequency and phase of flow fluctuations influence cycle shape.

Out-of-phase fluctuations modify cycle amplitude.

Abstract

We develop and subsequently explore the solution space of a simple flux transport dynamo model that incorporates a time dependent large scale meridional circulation. Based on recent observations we prescribed an analytical form for the amplitude of this circulation and study its impact in the evolution of the magnetic field. We find that cyclic variations in the amplitude and frequency of the meridional flow affect the strength of the solar cycle. Variations in the amplitude of the fluctuations influence the shape of the solar cycle but are only relevant to the cycle's strength variations when they occur at a frequency different from or out of phase of the solar cycle's.