Connecting solar radiance variability to the solar dynamo with the virial theorem

The variability of solar radiance over a solar cycle is thought to result from a delicate balance between the radiative deficit of sunspots and the extra contribution of plage and network regions. Although the net effect is tiny, it must imply structural and thermal changes in the Sun or in partial layers of it as an unavoidable consequence of the virial theorem. Using the virial theorem for continua-including the magnetic field-it can be shown how solar radiance variability might be connected to a deeply seated flux-tube dynamo and how this connection is established on a hydrodynamical time scale.