A Hypothesis on Solar Cycle to Cycle Interactions

We have found that the Sun undergoes a sudden transition from solar minimum to the new cycle. The solar minimum period is characterized by a mixture of relatively few, tiny, short-lived magnetic regions of both new- and old-cycle polarities. The transition is instantly identifiable by the global emergence of multiple new-cycle regions. After this "onset” of the new cycle, no old cycle regions emerge. It is as though the old cycle has been overwhelmed by the new cycle. The delay in the start of cycle 24 is coincident with extended magnetic activity from cycle 23 in the southern hemisphere of the Sun. The hypothesis that we are putting forward is that there is destructive interference between the decay of the old- and new-cycle magnetic dynamos. The old cycle effectively suppresses the emergence of the new cycle until it is overwhelmed and the new cycle blossoms. We identify times and locations for helioseismic observations to test this idea.