The flow of plasma inside the Sun The activity of the Sun, including the occurrence of sunspots, is driven by magnetic fields that originate from the motion of charged plasma beneath the surface. Helioseismology uses acoustic oscillations to probe the Sun's interior, analogous to seismology's use of earthquakes to investigate Earth's interior. Gizon et al. analyzed helioseismology data from 1996 to 2019, covering two 11-year solar cycles. They measured the latitudinal and radial flow of plasma as a function of depth within the Sun and how it varies with time. The results support magnetic flux-transport dynamo models, which can explain the distribution of sunspots over each solar cycle. Science, this issue p. 1469 Helioseismology is used to measure the bulk flow of plasma within the Sun and how it varies with depth. The Sun’s magnetic field is generated by subsurface motions of the convecting plasma. The latitude at which the magnetic field emerges through the solar surface (as sunspots) drifts toward the equator over the course of the 11-year solar cycle. We use helioseismology to infer the meridional flow (in the latitudinal and radial directions) over two solar cycles covering 1996–2019. Two data sources are used, which agree during their overlap period of 2001–2011. The time-averaged meridional flow is shown to be a single cell in each hemisphere, carrying plasma toward the equator at the base of the convection zone with a speed of ~4 meters per second at 45° latitude. Our results support the flux-transport dynamo model, which explains the drift of sunspot-emergence latitudes through the meridional flow.

中文翻译：

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太阳对流区的子午流是每个半球的一个单元

太阳内部等离子体的流动 太阳的活动，包括太阳黑子的出现，是由地表下带电等离子体运动产生的磁场驱动的。日震学使用声波振荡来探测太阳的内部，类似于地震学使用地震来调查地球内部。吉松等人。分析了 1996 年至 2019 年的日震学数据，涵盖了两个 11 年的太阳周期。他们测量了等离子体的纬度和径向流作为太阳内部深度的函数以及它如何随时间变化。结果支持磁通量传输发电机模型，该模型可以解释太阳黑子在每个太阳周期中的分布。科学，这个问题 p。1469 日震学用于测量太阳内等离子体的整体流动以及它如何随深度变化。太阳的磁场是由对流等离子体的地下运动产生的。在 11 年的太阳周期过程中，磁场通过太阳表面（作为太阳黑子）出现的纬度向赤道漂移。我们使用日震学来推断 1996-2019 年两个太阳周期的子午流（在纬度和径向方向）。使用了两个数据源，它们在 2001-2011 年的重叠期间一致。时间平均子午流显示为每个半球中的单个细胞，在对流区底部以约 4 米/秒的速度将等离子体运往赤道，纬度为 45°。我们的结果支持通量传输发电机模型，该模型解释了太阳黑子出现纬度通过子午流的漂移。