| The solar irradiance cycle has been observed for over 30 years. This cycle has been shown to correlate with the solar magnetic cycle. Understanding the solar irradiance cycle can have broad impact on our society. The measured change in solar irradiance over the solar cycle, on order of 0.1% is small, but a decrease of this size, if maintained over several solar cycles, would be sufficient to cause a global ice age on the earth. By understanding the changes that cause the solar cycle one might be able to determine if longer period solar irradiance cycles exist.; One possible cause of the irradiance cycle is that magnetic fields at the solar surface create "holes" in the solar surface allowing more energy to be radiated. This class of models assumes that energy radiation from the un-perturbed quiet sun remains constant over the solar cycle, and that the solar surface features are effectively coupled to the entire convection zone. Energy excess or deficits from solar features are drawn from the entire solar convection zone, which reradiates the excess or deficit over the thermal time scale of the entire convection zone.; A second proposed mechanism is that structural changes in the solar convection zone enhance energy transport during the solar maximum. The assumption is that magnetic fields generated near the base of the solar convection zone surface, bringing with them an increased energy flux. This excess energy is radiated by the solar surface and observed as the solar irradiance cycle.; Observations and simple physical modes are presented here. It will be shown that surface features alone do not cause the solar irradiance cycle. Another component is necessary. Strong evidence is also given that surface features only redistribute the surface energy flux in a spatial and angular fashion, but do not contribute to the solar irradiance cycle. |
