Polarity Reversal of the Polar Magnetic Fields in Solar Cycle 25

arXiv:2606.15259 · astro-ph.SR · Submitted 2026-06-13 · Read on arXiv

Yin Li, Shuhong Yang, Yuzong Zhang, Qiao Song, Guiping Zhou, Yuanyong Deng, Jingxiu Wang

astro-ph.SR

Submitted: 2026-06-13

Comments: 17 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in Solar Physics

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The gist: The polar magnetic field polarity reversal is a key signature of solar cycle evolution, and precise determination of its timing is crucial for dynamo theory validation and solar cycle prediction.

Terminology

Abstract

The polar magnetic field polarity reversal is a key signature of solar cycle evolution, and precise determination of its timing is crucial for dynamo theory validation and solar cycle prediction. We investigate the polar polarity reversal of solar cycle 25 using the vector magnetic field data from the spectropolarimeter on board the Hinode satellite. We constructed polar top-down composite maps from Hinode-view magnetograms. These maps show the year-to-year polar polarity variations, with the northern polar region gradually changing from positive to negative and the southern polar region exhibiting the reverse behavior. The polarity reversals of the northern and southern polar caps (above 70 deg latitude) likely occurred in November 2024 and October 2024, respectively. The northern polarity reversal lagged the northern hemispheric sunspot number maximum by approximately 19 months, while the southern reversal possibly coincided with the southern maximum. Moreover, polarity reversal times calculated at 5 deg latitude intervals above 70 deg reveal a trend of earlier reversal in lower latitudes consistent with that of solar cycle 24. These results offer observational references for modeling polar polarity reversal in solar cycles.

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