Large-scale dynamo action driven by forced beating waves in a highly conducting plasma

2018 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof A. Mizerski

The aim of this short paper is simply to demonstrate the effect of interactions between distinct waves induced by an oscillatory forcing on generation of the large-scale electromotive force (EMF) in a highly electrically conducting plasma in the dynamical regime, i.e. when the back reaction of the Lorentz force on the flow is included. The mean EMF is induced by waves with distinct but close phase speeds, which are called ‘beating waves’ by analogy with the acoustic effect of ‘beat’, in the presence of a locally uniform seed magnetic field. These waves may have either positive or negative helicity, and it is supposed that waves of a single sign of helicity are preferentially excited by a symmetry-breaking mechanism. The formula for the mean EMF in a highly conducting plasma is derived, conditions relevant to those of the early universe before and during galaxy formation. Within the scope of the weak magnetohydrodynamic turbulence dominated by the linear waves an$\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}$-effect, that is generation of the large-scale EMF is studied, which leads to amplification of the seed mean magnetic field. Possible subsequent equilibration due to quenching resulting from the presence of the Lorentz force is briefly discussed.

2018 ◽  
Vol 612 ◽  
pp. A97 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. Bushby ◽  
P. J. Käpylä ◽  
Y. Masada ◽  
A. Brandenburg ◽  
B. Favier ◽  
...  

Context.Convectively driven flows play a crucial role in the dynamo processes that are responsible for producing magnetic activity in stars and planets. It is still not fully understood why many astrophysical magnetic fields have a significant large-scale component.Aims.Our aim is to investigate the dynamo properties of compressible convection in a rapidly rotating Cartesian domain, focusing upon a parameter regime in which the underlying hydrodynamic flow is known to be unstable to a large-scale vortex instability.Methods.The governing equations of three-dimensional non-linear magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) are solved numerically. Different numerical schemes are compared and we propose a possible benchmark case for other similar codes.Results.In keeping with previous related studies, we find that convection in this parameter regime can drive a large-scale dynamo. The components of the mean horizontal magnetic field oscillate, leading to a continuous overall rotation of the mean field. Whilst the large-scale vortex instability dominates the early evolution of the system, the large-scale vortex is suppressed by the magnetic field and makes a negligible contribution to the mean electromotive force that is responsible for driving the large-scale dynamo. The cycle period of the dynamo is comparable to the ohmic decay time, with longer cycles for dynamos in convective systems that are closer to onset. In these particular simulations, large-scale dynamo action is found only when vertical magnetic field boundary conditions are adopted at the upper and lower boundaries. Strongly modulated large-scale dynamos are found at higher Rayleigh numbers, with periods of reduced activity (grand minima-like events) occurring during transient phases in which the large-scale vortex temporarily re-establishes itself, before being suppressed again by the magnetic field.


1993 ◽  
Vol 157 ◽  
pp. 49-50
Author(s):  
V.N. Krivodubskij

The mean magnetic field transport due to inhomogeneity of the turbulence intensity is considered taking the field back reaction on motion into account. In spite of the magnetic quenching, the downward diamagnetic pumping is still powerful enough to keep the fields of 3 to 4 kG strength near the SCZ base against the magnetic buoyancy.


Author(s):  
Alexander Vakhrushev ◽  
Abdellah Kharicha ◽  
Ebrahim Karimi-Sibaki ◽  
Menghuai Wu ◽  
Andreas Ludwig ◽  
...  

AbstractA numerical study is presented that deals with the flow in the mold of a continuous slab caster under the influence of a DC magnetic field (electromagnetic brakes (EMBrs)). The arrangement and geometry investigated here is based on a series of previous experimental studies carried out at the mini-LIMMCAST facility at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR). The magnetic field models a ruler-type EMBr and is installed in the region of the ports of the submerged entry nozzle (SEN). The current article considers magnet field strengths up to 441 mT, corresponding to a Hartmann number of about 600, and takes the electrical conductivity of the solidified shell into account. The numerical model of the turbulent flow under the applied magnetic field is implemented using the open-source CFD package OpenFOAM®. Our numerical results reveal that a growing magnitude of the applied magnetic field may cause a reversal of the flow direction at the meniscus surface, which is related the formation of a “multiroll” flow pattern in the mold. This phenomenon can be explained as a classical magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) effect: (1) the closure of the induced electric current results not primarily in a braking Lorentz force inside the jet but in an acceleration in regions of previously weak velocities, which initiates the formation of an opposite vortex (OV) close to the mean jet; (2) this vortex develops in size at the expense of the main vortex until it reaches the meniscus surface, where it becomes clearly visible. We also show that an acceleration of the meniscus flow must be expected when the applied magnetic field is smaller than a critical value. This acceleration is due to the transfer of kinetic energy from smaller turbulent structures into the mean flow. A further increase in the EMBr intensity leads to the expected damping of the mean flow and, consequently, to a reduction in the size of the upper roll. These investigations show that the Lorentz force cannot be reduced to a simple damping effect; depending on the field strength, its action is found to be topologically complex.


2016 ◽  
Vol 791 ◽  
pp. 568-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew D. Gilbert ◽  
Joanne Mason ◽  
Steven M. Tobias

In the process of flux expulsion, a magnetic field is expelled from a region of closed streamlines on a $TR_{m}^{1/3}$ time scale, for magnetic Reynolds number $R_{m}\gg 1$ ($T$ being the turnover time of the flow). This classic result applies in the kinematic regime where the flow field is specified independently of the magnetic field. A weak magnetic ‘core’ is left at the centre of a closed region of streamlines, and this decays exponentially on the $TR_{m}^{1/2}$ time scale. The present paper extends these results to the dynamical regime, where there is competition between the process of flux expulsion and the Lorentz force, which suppresses the differential rotation. This competition is studied using a quasi-linear model in which the flow is constrained to be axisymmetric. The magnetic Prandtl number $R_{m}/R_{e}$ is taken to be small, with $R_{m}$ large, and a range of initial field strengths $b_{0}$ is considered. Two scaling laws are proposed and confirmed numerically. For initial magnetic fields below the threshold $b_{core}=O(UR_{m}^{-1/3})$, flux expulsion operates despite the Lorentz force, cutting through field lines to result in the formation of a central core of magnetic field. Here $U$ is a velocity scale of the flow and magnetic fields are measured in Alfvén units. For larger initial fields the Lorentz force is dominant and the flow creates Alfvén waves that propagate away. The second threshold is $b_{dynam}=O(UR_{m}^{-3/4})$, below which the field follows the kinematic evolution and decays rapidly. Between these two thresholds the magnetic field is strong enough to suppress differential rotation, leaving a magnetically controlled core spinning in solid body motion, which then decays slowly on a time scale of order $TR_{m}$.


1970 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 435-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. K. Moffatt

The effect of turbulence on a magnetic field whose length-scale L is initially large compared with the scale l of the turbulence is considered. There are no external sources for the field, and in the absence of turbulence it decays by ohmic dissipation. It is assumed that the magnetic Reynolds number Rm = u0l/λ (where u0 is the root-mean-square velocity and λ the magnetic diffusivity) is small. It is shown that to lowest order in the small quantities l/L and Rm, isotropic turbulence has no effect on the large-scale field; but that turbulence that lacks reflexional symmetry is capable of amplifying Fourier components of the field on length scales of order Rm−2l and greater. In the case of turbulence whose statistical properties are invariant under rotation of the axes of reference, but not under reflexions in a point, it is shown that the magnetic energy density of a magnetic field which is initially a homogeneous random function of position with a particularly simple spectrum ultimately increases as t−½exp (α2t/2λ3) where α(= O(u02l)) is a certain linear functional of the spectrum tensor of the turbulence. An analogous result is obtained for an initially localized field.


1988 ◽  
Vol 130 ◽  
pp. 293-300
Author(s):  
A.G. Doroshkevich ◽  
A.A. Klypin ◽  
M.U. Khlopov

Processes of the formation and the evolution of the large-scale structure are discussed in the framework of unstable dark matter models. Six numerical models are presented. The projected distribution of simulated galaxies on the sky, wedge diagrams, correlation functions and the mean linear scale of voids are presented. Physical background of the hypothesis of unstable particles and possible observational tests are discussed. The level of the microwave background fluctuations is estimated analytically. Special attention is given to late stage of supercluster evolution and galaxy formation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 493 (1) ◽  
pp. 1249-1260
Author(s):  
G Rüdiger ◽  
M Schultz

ABSTRACT A conducting Taylor–Couette flow with quasi-Keplerian rotation law containing a toroidal magnetic field serves as a mean-field dynamo model of the Tayler–Spruit type. The flows are unstable against non-axisymmetric perturbations which form electromotive forces defining α effect and eddy diffusivity. If both degenerated modes with m = ±1 are excited with the same power then the global α effect vanishes and a dynamo cannot work. It is shown, however, that the Tayler instability produces finite α effects if only an isolated mode is considered but this intrinsic helicity of the single-mode is too low for an α2 dynamo. Moreover, an αΩ dynamo model with quasi-Keplerian rotation requires a minimum magnetic Reynolds number of rotation of Rm ≃ 2000 to work. Whether it really works depends on assumptions about the turbulence energy. For a steeper-than-quadratic dependence of the turbulence intensity on the magnetic field, however, dynamos are only excited if the resulting magnetic eddy diffusivity approximates its microscopic value, ηT ≃ η. By basically lower or larger eddy diffusivities the dynamo instability is suppressed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 494 (4) ◽  
pp. 4854-4866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prasun Dhang ◽  
Abhijit Bendre ◽  
Prateek Sharma ◽  
Kandaswamy Subramanian

ABSTRACT We explore the magneto-rotational instability (MRI)-driven dynamo in a radiatively inefficient accretion flow (RIAF) using the mean field dynamo paradigm. Using singular value decomposition (SVD) we obtain the least-squares fitting dynamo coefficients α and γ by comparing the time series of the turbulent electromotive force and the mean magnetic field. Our study is the first one to show the poloidal distribution of these dynamo coefficients in global accretion flow simulations. Surprisingly, we obtain a high value of the turbulent pumping coefficient γ, which transports the mean magnetic flux radially outwards. This would have implications for the launching of magnetized jets that are produced efficiently in presence a large-scale poloidal magnetic field close to the compact object. We present a scenario of a truncated disc beyond the RIAF where a large-scale dynamo-generated poloidal magnetic field can aid jet launching close to the black hole. Magnitude of all the calculated coefficients decreases with radius. Meridional variations of αϕϕ, responsible for toroidal to poloidal field conversion, is very similar to that found in shearing box simulations using the ‘test field’ (TF) method. By estimating the relative importance of α-effect and shear, we conclude that the MRI-driven large-scale dynamo, which operates at high latitudes beyond a disc scale height, is essentially of the α − Ω type.


2004 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. F. Burlaga

Abstract. During 2002, the Voyager 1 spacecraft was in the heliosphere between 83.4 and 85.9AU (1AU is the mean distance from the Sun to Earth) at 34° N heliographic latitude. The magnetic field strength profile observed in this region had a multifractal structure in the range of scales from 2 to 16 days. The multifractal spectrum observed near 85AU is similar to that observed near 40AU, indicating relatively little evolution of the multifractal structure of the magnetic field with increasing distance in the distant heliosphere in the epoch near solar maximum.


2000 ◽  
Vol 403 ◽  
pp. 263-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. ALEMANY ◽  
Ph. MARTY ◽  
F. PLUNIAN ◽  
J. SOTO

The fast breeder reactors (FBR) BN600 (Russia) and Phenix (France) have been the subject of several experimental studies aimed at the observation of dynamo action. Though no dynamo effect has been identified, the possibility was raised for the FBR Superphenix (France) which has an electric power twice that of BN600 and five times larger than Phenix. We present the results of a series of experimental investigations on the secondary pumps of Superphenix. The helical sodium flow inside one pump corresponds to a maximum magnetic Reynolds number (Rm) of 25 in the experimental conditions (low temperature). The magnetic field was recorded in the vicinity of the pumps and no dynamo action has been identified. An estimate of the critical flow rate necessary to reach dynamo action has been found, showing that the pumps are far from producing dynamo action. The magnetic energy spectrum was also recorded and analysed. It is of the form k−11/3, suggesting the existence of a large-scale magnetic field. Following Moffatt (1978), this spectrum slope is also justified by a phenomenological approach.


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