  We explore consequences for the solar dynamo of a newly-developed physical
hypothesis describing a weak coupling of the orbital and rotational motions of
extended bodies. The coupling is given by - c ((dL/dt) x omega sub alpha) x r,
where dL/dt represents the rate of change of barycentric orbital angular
momentum, omega sub alpha is the angular velocity of rotation, r is a position
vector identifying a particular location in a coordinate system rotating with
the Sun, and c is a coupling efficiency coefficient. This form of coupling has
no dependence on tides. The coupling expression defines a non-axisymmetric
global-scale acceleration field that varies both in space and with time.
Meridional components of acceleration typically dominate in equatorial and
middle latitudes, while zonal accelerations become increasingly significant at
higher latitudes. A comparison of the waveform of the putative dynamical
forcing function with the time series for measured solar meridional flow speeds
from Sunspot Cycle 23 yields correlations significant at the 99.9% level. We
introduce the possibility of a destructive interaction between the predicted
large-scale flows (due to orbit-spin coupling) and the dynamo mechanism(s) of
the 22-year magnetic activity cycle; observations in recent cycles of higher
meridional flow speeds during episodes of reduced solar sunspot activity may be
explained as a consequence of differences between the phasing of the magnetic
cycle and the phase of the forcing function. Algorithms are provided for
calculating meridional and zonal orbit-spin coupling accelerations within the
Sun as a function of latitude, longitude, depth, and time.
