Abstract Details

Name: Bidya Binay Karak
Affiliation: Indian Institute of Technology
Conference ID: ASI2021_399
Title : Recent Developments in the Babcock-Leighton Solar Dynamo Theory
Authors and Co-Authors : Bidya Binay Karak (Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi)
Abstract Type : Invited
Abstract Category : Plenary
Abstract : The magnetic field of the Sun increases and decreases in time with a polarity reversal every 11 years. The most interesting aspect here is that the amplitude of the field does not grow all the time, although there is a considerable variation in time. It is believed that a dynamo mechanism, operating in the convection zone of the sun, is responsible for producing these peculiar features in the magnetic field. Based on the limited observations of the solar magnetic field in the 1960s, Babcock and Leighton proposed a mechanism for the maintenance of the solar cycle. However, due to insufficient observational facts, scientists barely recognised this idea, rather tried to model the magnetic cycle through MHD convection simulation which eventually gave a little success. In recent years, long-term data produced from different observatories (including century-old Kodaikanal Solar Observatory) enabled us to validate the original idea of Babcock and Leighton. After giving some historical developments of this idea in this presentation, I shall discuss how well the solar cycle can be explained through the dynamo models developed based on the Babcock-Leighton mechanism. I shall also highlight different nonlinear mechanisms responsible for regulating the solar cycle amplitude, causes for making the cycle irregular, and the scope for prediction.