I review the X-ray emission from cool stars with outer convection zones in comparison to the Sun with a focus on the properties of low-activity stars. I present the recent results of long-term X-ray monitoring which demonstrate the existence of X-ray cycles on stars with known calcium cycles. The evidence of a minimum stellar X-ray flux is presented and arguments are put forward for the view that the Sun in its extended minimum between 2008 - 2009 behaved very much like a Maunder-minimum Sun.

Since Galileo, for four hundred years, dark spots have been observed systematically on the surface of the Sun. The monitoring of the sunspot number has shown that their number varies periodically every 11 years. This is the well-known solar activity cycle that is caused by the periodic changes of the magnetic field of the Sun. Not only do spots vary in number on a timescale of a decade, but the total luminosity and other signatures of activity such as flares and coronal mass ejections also increase and decrease with the 11-year cycle. Still unexplained to the present date are periods of decades with almost an absence of activity, where the best known example is the Maunder Minimum. Other stars also exhibit signs of cyclic activity, however the level of activity is usually thousand times higher than the solar one. Obviously, this is due to the difficulty of observing activity at the solar level on most stars. Presently, a method has been developed to detect and study individual solar like spots on the surface of planet-harbouring stars. As the planet eclipses dark patches on the surface of the star, a detectable signature can be observed in the light curve of the star during the transit. The study of a different variety of stars allows for a better understanding of magnetic cycles and the evolution of stars.

We present an observational program we started in 1999, to systematically obtain mid-resolution spectra of late-type stars, to study in particular chromospheric activity. In particular, we found cyclic activity in four dM stars, including Prox-Cen. We directly derived the conversion factor that translates the known S index to flux in the Ca II cores, and extend its calibration to a wider spectral range. We investigated the relation between the activity measurements in the calcium and hydrogen lines, and found that the usual correlation observed is the product of the dependence of each flux on stellar color, and it is not always preserved when simultaneous observations of a particular star are considered. We also used our observations to model the chromospheres of stars of different spectral types and activity levels, and found that the integrated chromospheric radiative losses, normalized to the surface luminosity, show a unique trend for G and K dwarfs when plotted against the S index.

Based on our large spectral database obtained at CASLEO Argentinian Observatory, we analyzed the relation between simultaneous measurements of Hα and Ca ii H+K fluxes. Although the correlation between both proxies is positive for the solar case, in 2007 our group found that while some stars exhibit correlations between Hα and the Ca ii lines, the slopes change from star to star, including cases where no correlation was found. To discern if this flux-flux relation depends on the level of activity of the star and if it is associated with the distribution of active regions in the stellar atmosphere, in this work we analyze the relation between Hα-Ca ii fluxes for the whole set of 44 G dwarf stars and individually for a subset of several solar-type stars of different level of activity.

We perform a study of 62 solar analog stars to compute their effective temperatures (Teff) using the Balmer line wing fitting procedure and compare them with Teff values obtained using other commonly employed methods. We use observed Hα spectral lines and a fine grid of theoretical LTE model spectra calculated with the best available atomic data and most recent quantum theory. Our spectroscopic data are of very high quality and have been carefully normalized to recover the proper shape of the Hα line profile. We obtain Teff values with internal errors of about 25K. Comparison of our results with those from other methods shows reasonably good agreement. Then, combining Teff values obtained from four independent techniques, we are able to determine final Teff values with errors of about 10K.

We explore various ideas of what a star in a Maunder-like magnetic minimum would look like, and ways of finding stars in such a state, and make some estimates of their physical and magnetic activity properties. We discuss new X-ray observations of a small selection of candidates for being in magnetic grand minima. These are then compared with the Sun and other low activity stars.

The identification of stars in a Maunder minimum state purely from their chromospheric emission (for example in Ca II lines) has proven to be difficult. Photospheric contributions, metallicities and possible deviations from the main sequence stage may lead to very low values of the traditional chromospheric activity indicators, while no Maunder minimum state may be present. X-ray observations can be a key tool for identifying possible Maunder minimum stars: We have detected very soft X-ray emission from low-temperature coronal plasma, similar to emission from solar coronal holes, in several stars with very low chromospheric activity indicators. The coronal properties inferred from X-ray observations can therefore yield a crucial piece of information to verify Maunder minimum states in stars.

Since a universally accepted dynamo model of grand minima does not exist at the present time, we concentrate on the physical processes which may be behind the grand minima. After summarizing the relevant observational data, we make the point that, while the usual sources of irregularities of solar cycles may be sufficient to cause a grand minimum, the solar dynamo has to operate somewhat differently from the normal to bring the Sun out of the grand minimum. We then consider three possible sources of irregularities in the solar dynamo: (i) nonlinear effects; (ii) fluctuations in the poloidal field generation process; (iii) fluctuations in the meridional circulation. We conclude that (i) is unlikely to be the cause behind grand minima, but a combination of (ii) and (iii) may cause them. If fluctuations make the poloidal field fall much below the average or make the meridional circulation significantly weaker, then the Sun may be pushed into a grand minimum.

We suggest a simple dynamical system which mimics a nonlinear dynamo which is able to provide (in specific domains of its parametric space) the temporal evolution of solar magnetic activity cycles as well as evolution of geomagnetic field including its polarity reversals. A qualitative explanation for the physical nature of both phenomena is presented and discussed.

We explore the importance of meridional circulation variations in modelling the irregularities of the solar cycle by using the flux transport dynamo model. We show that a fluctuating meridional circulation can reproduce some features of the solar cycle like the Waldmeier effect and the grand minimum. However, we get all these results only if the value of the turbulent diffusivity in the convection zone is reasonably high.

In this review we discuss the occurrence and statistical properties of Grand minima based on the available data covering the last millennia. In particular, we consider the historical record of sunspot numbers covering the last 400 years as well as records of cosmogenic isotopes in natural terrestrial archives, used to reconstruct solar activity for up to the last 11.5 millennia, i.e. throughout the Holocene. Using a reconstruction of solar activity from cosmogenic isotope data, we analyze statistics of the occurrence of Grand minima. We find that: the Sun spends about most of the time at moderate activity, 1/6 in a Grand minimum and some time also in a Grand maximum state; Occurrence of Grand minima is not a result of long-term cyclic variations but is defined by stochastic/chaotic processes; There is a tendency for Grand minima to cluster with the recurrence rate of roughly 2000-3000 years, with a weak ≈210-yr periodicity existing within the clusters. Grand minima occur of two different types: shorter than 100 years (Maunder-type) and long ≈150 years (Spörer-type). It is also discussed that solar cycles (most possibly not sunspots cycle) could exist during the Grand minima, perhaps with stretched length and asymmetric sunspot latitudinal distribution.

These results set new observational constraints on long-term solar and stellar dynamo models.

Knowing solar activity during the past centuries is of great interest for many purposes. Historical documents can help us to know about the behaviour of the Sun during the last centuries. The observation of aurorae and naked-eye sunspots provides us with continuous information through the last few centuries that can be used to improve our knowledge of the long-term solar activity including solar Grand Minima. We have more or less detailed information on only one Grand minimum (the Maunder minimum in the second half of 17th century), which serves as an archetype for Grand minima in general. Telescopic sunspot records and measurements of solar diameter during Maunder minimum are available. In this contribution, I review some recent progress on these issues.

Intrinsic and induced planetary magnetospheres are the result of the transfer of energy and linear momentum between the solar wind and, respectively, the magnetic field and the atmospheres of solar system bodies. This transfer seems to be, however, more critical to the atmospheric evolution of unmagnetized objects such as Mars and Venus, as locally ionized planetary particles are accelerated by solar-wind induced electric fields, leading to atmospheric escape. The nature of the obstacle to the solar wind being different, intrinsic and induced magnetospheres respond differently to solar cycle changes in solar photon flux and solar wind properties. The influence of solar variability on planetary magnetospheres and its implications for atmospheric evolution based upon remote and in situ spacecraft measurements, and numerical simulations are discussed. In particular, the case of unmagnetized objects where non-thermal escape process might have played a role in their habitability conditions is considered.

At present, dwarf M stars are being considered as potential hosts for habitable planets. However, an important fraction of these stars are flare stars, which among other kind of radiation, emit large amounts of UV radiation during flares, and it is unknown how this events can affect life, since biological systems are particularly vulnerable to UV. In this work we evaluate a well known dMe star, EV Lacertae (GJ 873) as a potential host for the emergence and evolution of life, focusing on the effects of the UV emission associated with flare activity. Since UV-C is particularly harmful for living organisms, we studied the effect of UV-C radiation on halophile archaea cultures. The halophile archaea or haloarchaea are extremophile microorganisms, which inhabit in hypersaline environments and which show several mechanisms to cope with UV radiation since they are naturally exposed to intense solar UV radiation on Earth. To select the irradiance to be tested, we considered a moderate flare on this star. We obtained the mean value for the UV-C irradiance integrating the IUE spectrum in the impulsive phase, and considering a hypothetical planet in the center of the liquid water habitability zone. To select the irradiation times we took the most frequent duration of flares on this star which is from 9 to 27 minutes. Our results show that even after considerable UV damage, the haloarchaeal cells survive at the tested doses, showing that this kind of life could survive in a relatively hostile UV environment.

Recently, Wolff & Patrone (2010), have developed a simple but very interesting model by which the movement of the Sun around the barycentre of the Solar system could create potential energy that could be released by flows pre-existing inside the Sun. The authors claim that it is the first mechanism showing how planetary movements can modify internal structure in the Sun that can be related to solar cycle. In this work we point out limitations of mentioned mechanism (which is based on interchange arguments), which could be inapplicable to a real star. Then, we calculate the temporal evolution of potential energy stored in zones of Sun's interior in which the potential energy could be most efficiently stored taking into account detailed barycentric Sun dynamics. We show strong variations of potential energy related to Maunder Minimum, Dalton Minimum and the maximum of Cycle 22, around 1990. We discuss briefly possible implications of this putative mechanism to solar cycle specially Grand Minima events.

The planetary hypothesis of solar cycle is an old idea by which the planetary gravity acting on the Sun might have a non-negligible effect on the solar magnetic cycle. The advance of this hypothesis is based on phenomenological correlations between dynamical parameters of the Sun's movement around the barycenter of the Solar System and sunspots time series. In addition, several authors have proposed, using different methodologies that the first Grand Minima (GM) event of the new millennium is coming or has already begun. We present new fully three dimensional N-body simulations of the solar inertial motion (SIM) around the barycentre of the solar system in order to perform a phenomenological comparison between relevant SIM dynamical parameters and the occurrences of the last GM events (i.e., Maunder and Dalton). Our fundamental result is that the Sun acceleration decomposed in a co-orbital reference system shows a very particular behaviour that is common to Maunder minimum, Dalton minimum and the maximum of cycle 22 (around 1990), before the present prolonged minimum. We discuss our results in terms of a dynamical characterization of GM with relation to Sun dynamics and possible implications for a new GM event.

Global suface temperature has showed a rise trend in the last 150 years. This has been mainly attributed to the anthropogenic induced grenhouse gases emissions. However, the role of natural processes is not completely understood and should not be underestimated. In this work, we compare the long term variability of solar activity (as quantified by the sunspot number) with several surface temperature series from different geographical regions (global, hemispheric and latitudinal ranges). The interval of analysis is 1880-2005. The data are analyzed with wavelet multiresolution technique. It has been found that the solar activity long term trend has a maximum around 1970, while air surface temperature series showed maximum (still rising) at 2005. There are differences in the long term trend for Northern and Southern hemispheres. These differences and the relation with solar activity are discussed in this work.

Solar variability and its effects on the physical variability of our (space) environment produces complex signals. In the indicators of solar activity at least four independent cyclic components can be identified, all of them with temporal variations in their timescales.

Time-frequency distributions (see Kolláth & Oláh 2009) are perfect tools to disclose the “music scores” in these complex time series. Special features in the time-frequency distributions, like frequency splitting, or modulations on different timescales provide clues, which can reveal similar trends among different indices like sunspot numbers, interplanetary magnetic field strength in the Earth's neighborhood and climate data.

On the pseudo-Wigner Distribution (PWD) the frequency splitting of all the three main components (the Gleissberg and Schwabe cycles, and an ≈5.5 year signal originating from cycle asymmetry, i.e. the Waldmeier effect) can be identified as a “bubble” shaped structure after 1950. The same frequency splitting feature can also be found in the heliospheric magnetic field data and the microwave radio flux.

The solar activity has been proposed as one of the main factors of Earth's climate variability, however biological processes have been also proposed. Dimethylsulfide (DMS) is the main biogenic sulfur compound in the atmosphere. DMS is mainly produced by the marine biosphere and plays an important role in the atmospheric sulfur cycle. Currently it is accepted that terrestrial biota not only adapts to environmental conditions but influences them through regulations of the chemical composition of the atmosphere. In the present study we used different methods of analysis to investigate the relationship between the DMS, Low Clouds, Ultraviolet Radiation A (UVA) and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) in the Southern Hemisphere. We found that the series analyzed have different periodicities which can be associated with climatic and solar phenomena such as El Niño, the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) and the changes in solar activity. Also, we found an anticorrelation between DMS and UVA, the relation between DMS and clouds is mainly non-linear and there is a correlation between DMS and SST. Then, our results suggest a positive feedback interaction among DMS, solar radiation and cloud at time-scales shorter than the solar cycle.

We present a simple coronal heating model based on a cellular automaton approach. Following Parker's suggestion (1988), we consider the corona to be made up of elemental magnetic strands that accumulate magnetic stress due to the photospheric displacements of their footpoints. Magnetic energy is eventually released in small scale reconnection events. The model consists of a 2D grid in which strand footpoints travel with random displacements simulating convective motions. Each time two strands interact, a critical condition is tested (as in self-organized critical models), and if the condition is fulfilled, the strands reconnect and energy is released. We model the plasma response to the heating events and obtain synthetic observations. We compare the output of the model with real observations from Hinode/XRT and discuss the implications of our results for coronal heating.