Secular acceleration of solar rotation from 1943 to 1986

Abstract

The rotation of the surface layer of the Sun is found to have been accelerated secularly from the sunspot data of 1943 to 1986. To represent the overall state of rotation of the differentially rotating Sun, we define an indexM, by integrating the angular momentum density over the whole surface of the Sun, and call it the angular momentum layer density. The indexM increased monotonically or secularly from 1943 to 1986. This period corresponds to solar cycles 18, 19, 20, and 21. The monotonic increase ofM indicates that a net angular momentum must have steadily been coming from the layer down below the surface. The differential rotation latitudinal dependence profile did not change much from cycle 18 to cycle 20, but at cycle 21 the degree of equatorial acceleration dropped. This aspect is discussed in the context of the 55-year grand cycle. Cycle 21 is the start of grand cycle VI. The latitudinal dependence is less steep at cycle 21. The time scale of secular change of the indexM reflects the time scale of change of linkage of the surface and the deep layer in form of the angular momentum transfer, and that the time scale of the profile change of the differential rotation reflects the time scale of the angular momentum transfer within the surface layer.