Importance of Meridional Circulation in Flux Transport Dynamo: The Possibility of a Maunder-like Grand Minimum

Abstract

Meridional circulation is an important ingredient in flux transport dynamo models. We have studied its importance on the period, the amplitude of the solar cycle, and also in producing Maunder-like grand minima in these models. First, we model the periods of the last 23 sunspot cycles by varying the meridional circulation speed. If the dynamo is in a diffusion-dominated regime, then we find that most of the cycle amplitudes also get modeled up to some extent when we model the periods. Next, we propose that at the beginning of the Maunder minimum the amplitude of meridional circulation dropped to a low value and then after a few years it increased again. Several independent studies also favor this assumption. With this assumption, a diffusion-dominated dynamo is able to reproduce many important features of the Maunder minimum remarkably well. If the dynamo is in a diffusion-dominated regime, then a slower meridional circulation means that the poloidal field gets more time to diffuse during its transport through the convection zone, making the dynamo weaker. This consequence helps to model both the cycle amplitudes and the Maunder-like minima. We, however, fail to reproduce these results if the dynamo is in an advection-dominated regime.

10 pages and 7 figures. ApJ, in press. Few typos are corrected in this version

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• Dynamical characterization of the last prolonged solar minima
• Physical Models for Solar Cycle Predictions
• Mean field models of flux transport dynamo and meridional circulation in the Sun and stars
• The polar precursor method for solar cycle prediction: comparison of predictors and their temporal range
• Quenching and anisotropy of hydromagnetic turbulent transport
• Dynamo saturation through the latitudinal variation of bipolar magnetic regions in the Sun
• Physical link of the polar field build-up with the Waldmeier effect broadens the scope of early solar cycle prediction: Cycle 25 is likely to be slightly stronger than Cycle 24
• Oscillator models of the solar cycle: Towards the development of inversion methods
• Hysteresis between distinct modes of turbulent dynamos
• Nature of grand minima and maxima from fully non-linear Flux-Transport Dynamos
• Stellar Dynamos with Solar and Anti-solar Differential Rotations: Implications to Magnetic Cycles of Slowly Rotating Stars
• Is the Hemispheric Asymmetry of Monthly Sunspot Area an Irregular Process with Long-Term Memory?
• Toroidal flux loss due to flux emergence explains why solar cycles rise differently but decay in a similar way
• Impact of anti-solar differential rotation in mean-field solar-type dynamos -- Exploring possible magnetic cycles in slowly rotating stars
• A Critical Assessment of the Flux Transport Dynamo
• A Theoretical Model of the Near Surface Shear Layer of the Sun
• Modeling effects of starspots on stellar magnetic cycles
• Minimal Roles of Solar Subsurface Meridional Flow in the distributed-shear Babcock-Leighton Dynamo
• Role of sunspot latitude versus tilt in determining the polar field and amplitude of the next cycle: Cause of the weak Solar Cycle 20
• Solar Cycle Prediction: Challenges, Progress, and Future Perspectives