Investigating Variations in Solar Differential Rotation by Helioseismology

TL;DR

This study uses a novel time-dependent helioseismic inversion method on observational data to analyze solar differential rotation variations, revealing persistent dynamo wave patterns and validating solar dynamo models.

Contribution

Introduces a new time-dependent inversion technique that smooths over time, enhancing the analysis of solar rotation variations and dynamo wave detection.

Findings

Detection of dynamo wave patterns in zonal flows and accelerations.

Persistence of features across different time series lengths.

Radial gradient of rotation is close to -1 and varies with depth.

Abstract

Helioseismic signatures of dynamo waves have recently been discovered in variations of the solar differential rotation, offering valuable insights into the type of dynamo mechanism operating in the solar convection zone. To characterize these variations, we analyze p-mode frequency-splitting data estimated using time intervals of various lengths to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio in inversions of zonal flows. We introduce a novel time-dependent inversion method that inherently smooths the solution over time, eliminating the need for separate post-processing smoothing. By applying this approach to observational data from the SOHO Michelson Doppler Imager, SDO Helioseismic Magnetic Imager, and Global Oscillation Network Group, we identify similar dynamo wave patterns in both the zonal acceleration and the zonal flow throughout the entire convection zone. Our analysis shows that while using longer time series smooths out temporal variations, the fundamental features observed in the short time series (i.e. 72-day long) persist when inverting datasets covering different time periods. These findings reinforce earlier detections and offer further validation of solar dynamo models. We additionally investigate the dimensionless radial gradient of rotation. Its value is close to -1 and increases in the deeper layers, remaining nearly constant from the equator to mid-latitudes within the depth range of 13 to 35 Mm below the surface; the results at high latitudes remain somewhat inconclusive. The variation of this quantity displays a torsional oscillation-like pattern, albeit with certain differences.