On Polar Magnetic Field Reversal and Surface Flux Transport During Solar Cycle 24

TL;DR

This study analyzes the polar magnetic field reversal during Solar Cycle 24 using four years of magnetic field data, revealing asymmetries, episodic reversals, and flux transport processes influencing cycle variability.

Contribution

It provides detailed observations of the timing, asymmetry, and flux surges during Cycle 24's reversal, highlighting the role of surface flux transport mechanisms.

Findings

Polar fields reversed in late 2013, with northern and southern poles reversing 16 months apart.

Flux surges of trailing sunspot polarity are linked to AR tilt, flux, and meridional flow variations.

AR flux and poleward flow speed are anti-correlated, affecting cycle variability.

Abstract

As each solar cycle progresses, remnant magnetic flux from active regions (ARs) migrates poleward to cancel the old-cycle polar field. We describe this polarity reversal process during Cycle 24 using four years (2010.33--2014.33) of line-of-sight magnetic field measurements from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager. The total flux associated with ARs reached maximum in the north in 2011, more than two years earlier than the south; the maximum is significantly weaker than Cycle 23. The process of polar field reversal is relatively slow, north-south asymmetric, and episodic. We estimate that the global axial dipole changed sign in October 2013; the northern and southern polar fields (mean above 60$^\circ$ latitude) reversed in November 2012 and March 2014, respectively, about 16 months apart. Notably, the poleward surges of flux in each hemisphere alternated in polarity, giving rise to multiple reversals in the north. We show that the surges of the trailing sunspot polarity tend to correspond to normal mean AR tilt, higher total AR flux, or slower mid-latitude near-surface meridional flow, while exceptions occur during low magnetic activity. In particular, the AR flux and the mid-latitude poleward flow speed exhibit a clear anti-correlation. We discuss how these features can be explained in a surface flux transport process that includes a field-dependent converging flow toward the ARs, a characteristic that may contribute to solar cycle variability.