Divers solar rotation

Abstract

The rotational properties in the photospheric and solar wind plasma and magnetic fields are considered. In both the photosphere and the interplanetary medium near the earth, there is a tendency for the field patterns to rotate a few percent faster than the plasma patterns. The fields and plasmas show variability in their rotational properties on time scales of days or months, but averages over a few years tend to be less variable, as shown by the results for long-lived sunspots, and by the rotating solar magnetic dipole.