Hari Om Vats

In this paper, we report evidence of a very strong and statistically significant relationship between hemispheric asymmetry in the solar coronal rotation rate and solar activity. Our approach is based on the cross-correlation of the hemispheric asymmetry index (AI) in the rotation rate with annual solar activity indicators. To obtain the hemispheric asymmetry in the solar rotation rate, we use solar full disc (SFD) images at 30.4-, 19.5- and 28.4-nm wavelengths for the 24th solar cycle, that is, for the period from 2008 to 2018, as recorded by the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) space mission. Our analysis shows that the hemispheric asymmetry in rotation rate is high during the solar maxima from 2011 to 2014. However, hemispheric asymmetry decreases gradually on both sides (i.e. from 2008 to 2011 and from 2014 to 2018). The results show that the AI leads sunspot numbers by similar to 1.56 yr. This is a clear indication that hemispheric asymmetry triggers the formation of sunspots in conjunction with the differential rotation of the Sun.

The solar images at 17 GHz by the Nobeyama Radio Heliograph and in X-rays by the soft X-ray telescope (SXT) on board the Yohkoh satellite have been of particular interest for the estimation of solar coronal rotation using the flux modulation approach. These studies established that the solar corona rotates differentially. The radio images estimate an equatorial rotation period lower than those estimated by the X-ray images. The latitude profiles of the coronal rotation have temporal variability. It is very interesting that the space–time plots of sidereal rotation period clearly reveal north–south (NS) asymmetry. The asymmetry appears to change its sign in odd and even activity cycles of the Sun.

The coronal sidereal rotation rate as a function of latitude for each year, extending from 1992 to 2001 for soft X-ray images and from 1998 - 2005 for radio images are obtained. The present analysis reveals that the equatorial rotation rate of the corona is comparable to the photosphere and the chromosphere, However, at the higher latitudes, the corona rotation quite differently than the photosphere and chromosphere. The latitude differential obtained by both radio and X-ray images is quite variable throughout the period of the study. The equatorial rotation period seems to vary almost systematically with sunspot numbers which indicates its dependence on the phases of the solar activity cycle.

The aim of this paper is to study the latitudinal variation in the solar rotation in soft X-ray corona. The time series bins are formed on different latitude regions of the solar full disk (SFD) images that extend from 80 degree South to 80 degree North. These SFD images are obtained with the soft X-ray telescope (SXT) on board the Yohkoh solar observatory. The autocorrelation analyses are performed with the time series that track the SXR flux modulations in the solar corona. Then for each year, extending from 1992 to 2001, we obtain the coronal sidereal rotation rate as a function of the latitude. The present analysis from SXR radiation reveals that; (i) the equatorial rotation rate of the corona is comparable to the rotation rate of the photosphere and the chromosphere, (ii) the differential profile with respect to the latitude varies throughout the period of the study; it is more in the year 1999 and least in 1994 and (iii) the equatorial rotation period varies systematically with sunspot numbers and indicates its dependence on the phases of the solar activity cycle.

In the present work, we perform time-series analysis on the latitude bins of the solar full disk (SFD) images of Nobeyama Radioheliograph (NoRH) at 17 GHz. The flux modulation method traces the passage of radio features over the solar disc and the autocorrelation analysis of the time-series data of SFD images (one per day) for the period 1999-2001 gives the rotation period as a function of latitude extending from 60 degree S to 60 degree N. The results show that the solar corona rotates less differentially than the photosphere and chromosphere, i.e., it has smaller gradient in the rotation rate.