Evolution of Open Magnetic Flux and Heliospheric Current Sheet-associated Streamer Wind Across Multiple Solar Cycles

Evolution of Open Magnetic Flux and Heliospheric Current Sheet-associated Streamer Wind Across Multiple Solar Cycles | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Evolution of Open Magnetic Flux and Heliospheric Current Sheet-associated Streamer Wind Across Multiple Solar Cycles Jackson MacTaggart, Liang Zhao, Susan Lepri, Lennard Fisk, Aidan Nakhleh This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8554575/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract During the solar minima of solar cycles 23 and 24, the heliospheric magnetic field and the solar wind were observed to behave much differently than expected. In particular, previous studies showed that the magnetic open flux of the Sun, calculated as the product of the radial component of the Sun’s magnetic field and the squared radial distance from the Sun, was observed to have decreased along with observed changes in solar wind streams, such as solar wind proton density. This was in contrast to the standing theory that the “baseline” of the magnetic open flux should remain constant across the minima. In this work, we examine a range of solar wind parameters across five solar minima in cycles 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25. Using measurements of the heliospheric magnetic field and solar wind proton dynamic data (e.g., proton speed) and heavy ion composition (including charge state and elemental abundances) from the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), Geotail, International Sun-Earth Explorer-3 (ISEE-3), Explorer 50 (IMP-8), Wind, and Solar Orbiter spacecraft, we show that these parameters, with special focus on the magnetic open flux, have evolved differently with the solar cycle. In addition, we investigate the width of the Heliospheric Current Sheet (HCS) streamer belt in the recent solar cycle 25 solar minimum using ACE Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer (SWICS) (1.1 and 2.0) and Solar Wind Electron, Proton and Alpha Monitor (SWEPAM) data. With this analysis, we validate the conservation of the Total Open Magnetic Flux (TOMF) proposed in Zhao & Fisk (2011). We also investigate the width of the HCS-streamer belt for the solar cycle 22 minimum. We will summarize our results and discuss the implications on validating the model of the Sun’s open magnetic flux transport proposed in Fisk (2005). Solar Cycle Solar Wind In-situ measurements Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 13 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 12 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Jan, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 12 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 09 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 09 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 08 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8554575","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":573272634,"identity":"b2e3c65d-969d-47d7-8d96-45213ceafd9d","order_by":0,"name":"Jackson 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We will summarize our results and discuss the implications on validating the model of the Sun’s open magnetic flux transport proposed in Fisk (2005). 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