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The near-surface shear layer (NSSL) of the Sun: a theoretical model

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2024

Arnab Rai Choudhuri  and
Bibhuti Kumar Jha Open the ORCID record for Bibhuti Kumar Jha [Opens in a new window]
Arnab Rai Choudhuri*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
Bibhuti Kumar Jha*
Affiliation:
Southwest Research Institute, Boulder CO 80302, USA
*
email: [email protected]
email: [email protected]
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Abstract

We present a theoretical model of the near-surface shear layer (NSSL) of the Sun. Convection cells deeper down are affected by the Sun’s rotation, but this is not the case in a layer just below the solar surface due to the smallness of the convection cells there. Based on this idea, we show that the thermal wind balance equation (the basic equation in the theory of the meridional circulation which holds inside the convection zone) can be solved to obtain the structure of the NSSL, matching observational data remarkably well.

Keywords

differential rotationmeridional circulationconvectionnear-surface shear layer
Type
Contributed Paper
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 19 , Symposium S365: Dynamics of Solar and Stellar Convection Zones and Atmospheres , December 2023 , pp. 59 - 62
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of International Astronomical Union

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References

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