Comment on “Tidally Synchronized Solar Dynamo: A Rebuttal” by Nataf (Solar Phys. 297, 107, 2022)

• Published in: Solar physics Vol. 298; no. 2; p. 24
• Main Author: Scafetta, Nicola
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.02.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Astrophysics and Astroparticles; Atmospheric Sciences; Dynamo theory; Jupiter; Mercury; Mercury (planet); Modelling; Orbits; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Solar cycle; Solar physics; Space Exploration and Astronautics; Space Sciences (including Extraterrestrial Physics; Tidal models; Venus; Orbital synchronization; Mechanisms of solar variability; Solar cycles; Tidal forces; Planetary systems
• ISSN: 0038-0938; 1573-093X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11207-023-02118-5

Nataf ( Solar Phys. 297 , 107, 2022 ) has recently asserted that the hypothesis that the solar dynamo may be synchronized by planetary tidal forces is unsupported by any evidence. He reached this conclusion by adopting a simplistic tidal model (which was discussed in his Appendix A) that relies solely on the effect of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Jupiter whose orbits were assumed to be circular. His model was unable to produce tides with periods compatible with those of the Schwabe 11-year solar cycle. I demonstrate here that the modeling in Nataf ( 2022 ) is erroneous and that a correct modeling and interpretation of the planetary tidal function, which accounts for all planets and their true orbits, fits well with the spectral requirements of the Schwabe 11-year solar cycle. This result has been already shown and discussed in a substantial body of scholarly research on the subject, which Nataf apparently ignored. A recent and extended review of the empirical and theoretical evidences supporting the planetary synchronized solar dynamo theory was offered by Scafetta and Bianchini ( Front. Astron. Space Sci. 9 , 937930, 2022 ).