Phase and amplitude asymmetry in the quasi-biennial oscillation of solar Halpha flare activity

Quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) of solar magnetic activities is intrinsic to dynamo mechanism, but still far from fully understood. In this work, the phase and amplitude asymmetry of solar QBO of Hα flare activity in the northern and southern hemispheres is studied by the ensemble empirical mode decomposition, the cross-correlation analysis, and the wavelet transform technique. The following results are found: (1) solar QBO of Hα flare index in the two hemispheres has a complicated phase relationship, but does not show any systematic regularity; and (2) the solar cycle mode of solar Hα flare index in the northern hemisphere generally leads that in the southern one by nine months for the time interval from 1966 to 2014. The possible origin of these results is discussed.