Solar magnetic field reversals and the role of dynamo families

BRUN Allan Sacha, sacha.brun@cea.fr, CEA-Saclay, France
Derosa Marc, LMSAL
Hoeksema Todd Stanford solar goup

Abstract
We study how the solar magnetic field evolves from antisymmetric (dipolar) to symmetric (quadrupolar) state during the course of its 11-yr cycle. We show that based on equatorial symmetries of the induction equation, current Babcock-Leighton solar dynamo models excite mostly the antisymmetric (dipolar) family whereas a decomposition of the solar magnetic field data reveals that both families should be excited. We propose an alternative solar dynamo solution to reconcile models and observations.