The Relative Umbral Area in Spot Groups as an Index of Cyclic Variation of Solar Activity

Abstract

The Greenwich series of data was used to study the ratio [q] of the total umbra area to the total area of the sunspot group (for brevity “relative umbral area”) for the period 1874 – 1976. It was revealed that the annual mean value of q varied in time from 0.15 to 0.28 and reached its maximum in the early 1930s. The dependence of q on the sunspot group area [S] was considered to show that the smallest groups, of area less than 100 m.v.h. (millionths of the visible hemisphere), contributed most significantly to the temporal variation of q. In contrast to the earlier results, the dependence obtained proved to be rather complicated. The coefficients of the linear expansion q(S) are themselves dependent on the sunspot-group area and time [t]; i.e. the relation of q to both S and t is nonlinear. Only in sunspot groups with a large area does dependence disappear, and q becomes constant, equal to 0.18. This is the value given in textbooks. The relations obtained show that the relive umbral area and the relative number of small groups are important parameters of the secular variation of solar activity. In particular, they may account for variations in the mean magnetic field in active regions, the complexity of a group according to the magnetic classification, the flare activity of a sunspot group, and its geophysical impact. It is conjectured that the parameter q describes the time-varying relative contribution from the interior and subsurface dynamo mechanisms.