Events

Solar inertial modes—global oscillations restored by the Coriolis force—have periods close to the solar rotation period and are sensitive to differential rotation and other key properties of the solar convection zone, such as superadiabaticity. Our team studies these modes using long-term observations and modeling. We find that most observed modes are linearly stable and stochastically excited by turbulent convection, but a few are self-excited. One striking example is the high-latitude m=1 mode, whose velocity amplitude exceeds 10 m/s, an order of magnitude larger than most other modes. Simulations show that this mode affects the solar latitudinal differential rotation via a feedback mechanism. The study of solar inertial modes holds great promise. These modes are likely not just passive probes but active contributors to the dynamics of the convection zone, opening up exciting avenues for future investigation.