On the planetary forcing of the Solar dynamo: Evidence from a Lagrangian framework

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Main Authors: Mouël, Jean-Louis Le, Courtillot, Vincent, Kossobokov, Vladimir, Gibert, Dominique, Lopes, Fernando, Boulé, Jean-Baptiste, Zuddas, Pierpaolo
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Mouël, Jean-Louis Le
Courtillot, Vincent
Kossobokov, Vladimir
Gibert, Dominique
Lopes, Fernando
Boulé, Jean-Baptiste
Zuddas, Pierpaolo
author_facet Mouël, Jean-Louis Le
Courtillot, Vincent
Kossobokov, Vladimir
Gibert, Dominique
Lopes, Fernando
Boulé, Jean-Baptiste
Zuddas, Pierpaolo
contents Whether planetary motions influence the solar magnetic cycle has remained an open question due to the lack of a rigorous physical mechanism. Here we develop a Lagrangian framework based on the Virial theorem to show that planetary orbital angular momentum modulates the Sun's rotation through barycentric dynamics, consistent with angular momentum conservation. Using Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) applied to sunspot number (SSN) and terrestrial length-of-day (LOD) records spanning the past 250 years, we identify two non-linear trends plus 11 common pseudo-cycles whose periods match those of planetary resonances (LR$^{*}$). We then demonstrate that a reduced nonlinear $α-Ω$ dynamo model, forced solely by the summed planetary right ascension RA(t), reproduces both the Schwabe cycle and its multi-decadal envelope, including the Dalton Minimum and the Modern Maximum. These results provide strong evidence, based on a physically-grounded model, that the solar dynamo is weakly forced by planetary motion, suggesting that the solar dynamo, classically viewed as autonomous, may in fact behave as a synchronized system.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_18939
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle On the planetary forcing of the Solar dynamo: Evidence from a Lagrangian framework
Mouël, Jean-Louis Le
Courtillot, Vincent
Kossobokov, Vladimir
Gibert, Dominique
Lopes, Fernando
Boulé, Jean-Baptiste
Zuddas, Pierpaolo
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Geophysics
Whether planetary motions influence the solar magnetic cycle has remained an open question due to the lack of a rigorous physical mechanism. Here we develop a Lagrangian framework based on the Virial theorem to show that planetary orbital angular momentum modulates the Sun's rotation through barycentric dynamics, consistent with angular momentum conservation. Using Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) applied to sunspot number (SSN) and terrestrial length-of-day (LOD) records spanning the past 250 years, we identify two non-linear trends plus 11 common pseudo-cycles whose periods match those of planetary resonances (LR$^{*}$). We then demonstrate that a reduced nonlinear $α-Ω$ dynamo model, forced solely by the summed planetary right ascension RA(t), reproduces both the Schwabe cycle and its multi-decadal envelope, including the Dalton Minimum and the Modern Maximum. These results provide strong evidence, based on a physically-grounded model, that the solar dynamo is weakly forced by planetary motion, suggesting that the solar dynamo, classically viewed as autonomous, may in fact behave as a synchronized system.
title On the planetary forcing of the Solar dynamo: Evidence from a Lagrangian framework
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Geophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.18939