Rotation of the solar interior

Abstract

Helioseismology has allowed us to infer the rotation in the greater part of the solar interior with high precision and resolution. The results show interesting conflicts with earlier theoretical expectations, indicating that the the Sun is host to complex dynamical phenomena, so far hardly understood. This has important consequences for our ideas about the evolution of stellar rotation, as well as for models for the generation of the solar magnetic field. Here we provide an overview of our current knowledge about solar rotation, much of it obtained from observations from the SOHO spacecraft, and discuss the broader implications.