Discriminating between Babcock–Leighton-type Solar Dynamo Models by Torsional Oscillations

Abstract The details of the dynamo process in the Sun are an important aspect of research in solar-terrestrial physics and astrophysics. The surface part of the dynamo can be constrained by direct observations, but the subsurface part lacks direct observational constraints. The torsional oscillations, a small periodic variation of the Sun's rotation with the solar cycle, are thought to result from the Lorentz force of the cyclic magnetic field generated by the dynamo. In this study, we aim to discriminate between three Babcock–Leighton dynamo models by comparing the zonal acceleration of the three models with the observed one. The property that the poleward and equatorward branches of the torsional oscillations originate from about ±55° latitudes with their own migration time periods serves as an effective discriminator that could constrain the configuration of the magnetic field in the convection zone. The toroidal field, comprising poleward and equatorward branches separated at about ±55° latitudes, can generate the two branches of the torsional oscillations. The alternating acceleration and deceleration bands in time are the other property of the torsional oscillations that discriminates between the dynamo models. To reproduce this property, the phase difference between the radial ( B r ) and toroidal ( B ϕ ) components of the magnetic field near the surface should be about π /2.