Abstract

With the unique database from Michelson Doppler Imager aboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory in an interval embodying solar cycle 23, the cyclic behavior of solar small-scale magnetic elements is studied. More than 13 million solar network magnetic elements are selected, and the following results are discussed. (1) With increasing flux per element, the number variation of the network elements shows a three-fold scenario: no-correlation, anti-correlation, and correlation with sunspots, respectively. The anti-correlated elements cover flux range of (2.9 - 32.0)×10¹⁸ Mx, and occupy 77.2% of total network elements. (2) The latitude distribution of the correlated elements follows the sunspot butterfly diagram in the solar cycle but has wider latitude distribution than sunspots. Furthermore, the anti-correlated elements also show much broad latitude distribution, but a moderate migration toward equator during the solar maximum which was clearly out of phase with sunspots. These results shed new light in understanding anti-correlated variations of small-scale solar activity, e.g., X-ray coronal bright points, and the origin of the Sun’s small-scale magnetism.