Transport of Magnetic Fields on the Sun.

The dispersal and migration of unipolar and bipolar magnetic regions on the Sun are quantitatively interpreted as a random-walk, diffusion-like process caused by supergranulation convection currents in the Sun's outer layers The time-dependent strength and sign of the polar fields are deduced approximately from the positions, fluxes, and axial tilts of the individual spot groups associated with the sunspot cycle. The well-known predominance of the preceding spot of a group is attributed to a characteristic field configuration which renders p spots relatively stable against fragmentation by the supergranulation currents The relation of the random-walk process to the solar cycle is briefly discussed, and the 11-year period is interpreted as the summation of five more-or-less distinct parts