Understanding the solar dynamo

Abstract

olar magnetic activity is observed on a wide range of scales, from the intriguingly regular and well-ordered large-scale field, to much more complex small-scale structures. In this article we shall primarily be concerned with the large-scale features, and the associated large-scale dynamo that is responsible for their occurrence. The small-scale magnetic field at the photosphere may also owe its existence to a dynamo mechanism; however, dynamo action of this form is highly localized and is very different in character from the large-scale dynamo, and so the two issues are largely addressed separately. More details about small-scale dynamo action can be found in the review by Cattaneo and Hughes (2001), while further information about photospheric magnetic features and sunspots can be found elsewhere in this issue (Tobias and Weiss 4.28, Proctor 4.14).