Total Solar Irradiance and the Fe XIV Corona

Abstract

Analyzing daily values of the total solar irradiance (TSI), the coronal index of solar activity (CI), and the Mg II 280-nm core-to-wing ratio (Mg II index), we have found that the temporal variations of these indices are very similar to each other during the period from 1978 to 2005. The correlation between CI and TSI, with the PSI correction lying within the interval under study, has been found to be 0.699, which is very close to the value of 0.703 of the correlation between Mg II and TSI for 27-day averages (the CI – Mg correlation is 0.824). The regression equation between CI and TSI is almost linear, except for TSI depletions when a large number of sunspots are present on the visible disk. By employing CI, an extrapolation of TSI back to 1947 is presented.