Solar differential rotation and properties of magnetic clouds

Abstract

The most geoeffective solar drivers are magnetic clouds - a subclass of coronal mass ejections (CME's) distinguished by the smooth rotation of the magnetic field inside the structure. The portion of CME's that are magnetic clouds is maximum at sunspot minimum and mimimum at sunspot maximum. This portion is determined by the amount of helicity carried away by CME's which in turn depends on the amount of helicity transferred from the solar interior to the surface, and on the surface differential rotation. The latter can increase or reduce, or even reverse the twist of emerging magnetic flux tubes, thus increasing or reducing the helicity in the corona, or leading to the violation of the hemispheric helicity rule, respectively. We investigate the CME's associated with the major geomagnetic storms in the last solar cycle whose solar sources have been identified, and find that in 10 out of 12 cases of violation of the hemispheric helicity rule or of highly geoeffective CME's with no magnetic field rotation, they originate from regions with "anti-solar" type of surface differential rotation.