Abstract

We use the observed Royal Greenwich Observatory photoheliographic results to obtain the statistical properties of sunspot group emergence. These include correlations between the sunspot numbers and sunspot group latitudes, longitudes, areas and tilt angles. The semi-synthetic records of emerging sunspot groups were taken as input for a surface flux transport model to reconstruct the evolution of the large-scale solar magnetic field and the open heliospheric flux from the year 1700 onward. The reconstruction results for the total surface flux, the polar field, and the heliospheric open flux agree well with the available observational or empirically derived data and reconstructions. We confirm a significant positive correlation between the polar field during activity minimum periods and the strength of the subsequent sunspot cycle, which has implications for flux transport dynamo models for the solar cycle.