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R. Komm, R. Howe, I. Gonzalez-Hernandez, F. Hill (NSO), D. Haber, B. Hindman (JILA, Boulder, CO), T. Corbard (Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur, Nice, France)
We study horizontal flows in the upper solar convection zone derived from GONG and MDI Dynamics Program data using ring-diagram analysis. We start exploring the dynamics of the near surface layers and the interaction between flows and magnetic flux by deriving the vorticity of the horizontal flow components. A preliminary analysis of synoptic flow maps shows that the vorticity is enhanced near locations of active regions. In this study, we focus on the question of how these flows with vorticity near active regions are related to the so-called torsional oscillation pattern shown by zonal flows. During a solar cycle, alternating bands of faster- and slower-than-average rotation move from high latitudes toward the solar equator with the faster-than-average band being equatorward of active regions. The solar-cycle variation of the zonal flows thus contributes to the vorticity measured in daily or synoptic flow maps. We plan to determine the size of this contribution and will present our latest results.
This work was supported by grants from NASA and NSF.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 #2
© YEAR. The American Astronomical Soceity.