The solar benchmark: Rotational modulation of the Sun reconstructed from archival sunspot records

A quasi-periodic Gaussian process measures the solar rotation period P-rot = 26.3 +/- 0.1 d, and activity cycle period P-cyc = 10.7 +/- 0.3 yr. We attempt to search for evidence of differential rotation in variations of the apparent rotation period throughout the activity cycle and do not detect a clear signal of differential rotation, consistent with the null results of the hare-and-hounds exercise of Aigrain et al. The full reconstructed solar light curve is available online.