Solar cycle variability induced by tilt angle scatter in a Babcock-Leighton Solar Dynamo Model

The time spent in grand minima for sd = 15. is somewhat less than that inferred for the Sun from cosmogenic isotopes (about 9% compared to 17%). However, when we double the tilt scatter to sigma(d) = 30 degrees.,the simulation statistics are comparable to the Sun (similar to 18% of the time in grand minima and similar to 10% in grand maxima). Though the BL mechanism is the only source of poloidal field, we find that our simulations always maintain magnetic cycles even at large fluctuations in the tilt angle.

We also demonstrate that tilt quenching is a viable and efficient mechanism for dynamo saturation; a suppression of the tilt by only 1 degrees-2 degrees is sufficient to limit the dynamo growth. Thus, any potential observational signatures of tilt quenching in the Sun may be subtle.