Where are the solar magnetic poles?

Collados, M.; Martínez González, M. J.; Pastor Yabar, A.
Bibliographical reference

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, Volume 453, Issue 1, p.L69-L72

Advertised on:
10
2015
Number of authors
3
IAC number of authors
3
Citations
11
Refereed citations
11
Description
Regardless of the physical origin of stellar magnetic fields - fossil or dynamo induced - an inclination angle between the magnetic and rotation axes is very often observed. Absence of observational evidence in this direction in the solar case has led to generally assume that its global magnetic field and rotation axes are well aligned. We present the detection of a monthly periodic signal of the photospheric solar magnetic field at all latitudes, and especially near the poles, revealing that the main axis of the Sun's magnetic field is not aligned with the surface rotation axis. This result reinforces the view of our Sun as a common intermediate-mass star. Furthermore, this detection challenges and imposes a strong observational constraint to modern solar dynamo theories.
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