Secular variation of the Sun's magnetic flux

Abstract

We present an extension of the model of Solanki et al. (2000) that allows us to reconstruct the time evolution of both the total and the open magnetic flux at the solar surface since 1700. The flux emerging in large active regions is determined using the sunspot number as a proxy, while the flux emergence in small ephemeral regions is described by an extended cycle whose amplitude and length are related to the corresponding sunspot cycle. Both types of regions contribute to the open flux, which is the source of the heliospheric field. The overlap of the activity cycles of ephemeral regions leads to a secular variation of the total cycle-related magnetic flux (active region flux + ephemeral region flux + open flux). The model results indicate that the total surface flux has doubled in the first half of the last century. The evolution of the open flux is in good agreement with the reconstruction by Lockwood et al. (1999).