Solar magnetic cycle: Peculiarities of the photospheric field distribution

Synoptic maps for 1976–2003 obtained at the Kitt Peak National Solar Observatory are used to analyze the longitudinal distribution of the solar photospheric magnetic field. The superposition of synoptic maps gives different pictures for the rise-maximum phase and the decline-minimum phase. Two characteristic periods correspond to different situations in the 22-year solar magnetic cycle in the course of which both the global magnetic field and the magnetic field of the leading sunspot in a group change their sign.