scholarly journals Small Magnetostatic Flux Tubes

1977 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-266
Author(s):  
H. C. Spruit

In an attempt to interpret the observed properties of small scale magnetic fields at the solar surface, a set of models has been calculated based on the assumption of a magnetostatic equilibrium. The basic assumptions made are: i.The observed magnetic elements are magnetostatic flux tubes.ii.The efficiency of convective heat transport inside the tube is reduced with respect to that in the normal convection zone; the horizontal convective heat transport in the tube is suppressed completely by the magnetic field.iii.Close to the tube, horizontal convective heat transport is reduced due to the proximity of the magnetic field.

2003 ◽  
Vol 475 ◽  
pp. 21-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
ULRICH BURR ◽  
LEOPOLD BARLEON ◽  
PAUL JOCHMANN ◽  
ARKADY TSINOBER

This article presents an experimental study of magnetohydrodynamic convection in a tall vertical slot under the influence of a horizontal magnetic field. The test fluid is an eutectic sodium potassium Na22K78 alloy with a small Prandtl number of Pr ≈ 0:02. The experimental setup covers Rayleigh numbers in the range 103 [lsim ] Ra [lsim ] 8×104 and Hartmann numbers 0 < M < 1600. The effect of the magnetic field on the convective heat transport is determined not only by damping as expected from Joule dissipation but also, for magnetic fields not too strong, the convective heat transfer may be considerably enhanced compared to ordinary hydrodynamic (OHD) flow. Estimates of the isotropy properties of the flow by a four-element temperature probe demonstrate that the increase in convective heat transport accompanies the formation of strong local anisotropy of the turbulent eddies in the sense of an alignment of the main direction of vorticity with the magnetic field. The reduced three-dimensional nonlinearities in non-isotropic flow favour the formation of largescale vortex structures compared to OHD flow, which are more effective for convective heat transport. Along with the formation of quasi-two-dimensional vortex structures, temperature fluctuations may be considerably enhanced in a magnetic field that is not too strong. However, above Hartmann numbers M [gsim ] 400 the formerly strongly time-dependent flow suddenly becomes stationary with an extended region of high convective heat transport at stationary flow. Finally, for very high Hartmann numbers the convective motion is strongly suppressed and the heat transport is reduced to a state close to pure heat conduction.


1996 ◽  
Vol 176 ◽  
pp. 201-216
Author(s):  
Sami K. Solanki

The magnetic field of the Sun is mainly concentrated into intense magnetic flux tubes having field strengths of the order of 1 kG. In this paper an overview is given of the thermal and magnetic properties of these flux tubes, which are known to exhibit a large range in size, from the smallest magnetic elements to sunspots. Differences and similarities between the largest and smallest features are stressed. Some thoughts are also presented on how the properties of magnetic flux tubes are expected to scale from the solar case to that of solar-like stars. For example, it is pointed out that on giants and supergiants turbulent pressure may dominate over gas pressure as the main confining agent of the magnetic field. Arguments are also presented in favour of a highly complex magnetic geometry on very active stars. Thus the very large starspots seen in Doppler images probably are conglomerates of smaller (but possibly still sizable) spots.


1988 ◽  
Vol 123 ◽  
pp. 167-170
Author(s):  
Gaetano Belvedere

The overshoot layer in stellar convection zones is slightly subadiabatic and can be considered as a stable region for storage of magnetic flux. Belvedere, Pidatella and Stix (1986) estimated the size of the overshoot layer and computed the magnetic field strength, beyond which toroidal flux tubes become unstable to buoyancy, for a number of main sequence spectral types ranging from F5 to K0. Here we estimate the relative frequency perturbation of high order acoustic modes due to the presence of a non-oblique axisymmetric magnetic field in the overshoot layer. We find that increases with the advancing spectral type, the predicted frequency splitting being large enough to be detected by observations, at least for the Sun.We conclude that magnetic field induced frequency splitting of high order acoustic modes may well be due to a toroidal field of relatively moderate strength just beneath the bottom of the convection zone.


2019 ◽  
Vol 632 ◽  
pp. A112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rahul Yadav ◽  
Jaime de la Cruz Rodríguez ◽  
Carlos José Díaz Baso ◽  
Avijeet Prasad ◽  
Tine Libbrecht ◽  
...  

We analyze high-resolution spectropolarimetric observations of a flux-emerging region (FER) in order to understand its magnetic and kinematic structure. Our spectropolarimetric observations in the He I 10830 Å spectral region of a FER were recorded with GRIS at the 1.5 m aperture GREGOR telescope. A Milne–Eddington-based inversion code was employed to extract the photospheric information of the Si I spectral line, whereas the He I triplet line was analyzed with the Hazel inversion code, which takes into account the joint action of the Hanle and the Zeeman effects. The spectropolarimetric analysis of the Si I line reveals a complex magnetic structure near the vicinity of the FER, where a weak (350–600 G) and horizontal magnetic field was observed. In contrast to the photosphere, the analysis of the He I triplet presents a smooth variation of the magnetic field vector (ranging from 100 to 400 G) and velocities across the FER. Moreover, we find supersonic downflows of ∼40 km s−1 appearing near the foot points of loops connecting two pores of opposite polarity, whereas strong upflows of 22 km s−1 appear near the apex of the loops. At the location of supersonic downflows in the chromosphere, we observed downflows of 3 km s−1 in the photosphere. Furthermore, nonforce-free field extrapolations were performed separately at two layers in order to understand the magnetic field topology of the FER. We determine, using extrapolations from the photosphere and the observed chromospheric magnetic field, that the average formation height of the He I triplet line is ∼2 Mm from the solar surface. The reconstructed loops using photospheric extrapolations along an arch filament system have a maximum height of ∼10.5 Mm from the solar surface with a foot-point separation of ∼19 Mm, whereas the loops reconstructed using chromospheric extrapolations reach around ∼8.4 Mm above the solar surface with a foot-point separation of ∼16 Mm at the chromospheric height. The magnetic topology in the FER suggests the presence of small-scale loops beneath the large loops. Under suitable conditions, due to magnetic reconnection, these loops can trigger various heating events in the vicinity of the FER.


2000 ◽  
Vol 179 ◽  
pp. 275-282
Author(s):  
M. Fligge ◽  
S. K. Solanki

AbstractAt the solar surface the magnetic field is bundled into discrete elements of concentrated flux, often referred to as magnetic flux tubes, which cover only a small fraction of the solar surface. Flux tubes span a whole spectrum of sizes, ranging from sunspots to features well below the best currently obtainable spatial resolution.Whereas sunspots have been well studied, our knowledge of the true brightness of small-scale magnetic features is hampered by the insufficient spatial resolution of the observations. A better understanding of the thermal and magnetic properties of these small-scale features, however, is crucial for an understanding of (climate-relevant) long-term solar irradiance variations.


2002 ◽  
Vol 453 ◽  
pp. 345-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
ULRICH BURR ◽  
ULRICH MÜLLER

This article presents an analytical and experimental study of magnetohydrodynamic Rayleigh–Bénard convection in a large aspect ratio, 20[ratio ]10[ratio ]1, rectangular box. The test fluid is a eutectic sodium potassium Na22K78 alloy with a small Prandtl number of Pr≈0:02. The experimental setup covers Rayleigh numbers in the range 103< Ra<8×104 and Chandrasekhar numbers 0[les ]Q[les ]1.44×106 or Hartmann numbers 0[les ]M[les ]1200, respectively.When a horizontal magnetic field is imposed on a heated liquid metal layer, the electromagnetic forces give rise to a transition of the three-dimensional convective roll pattern into a quasi-two-dimensional flow pattern in such a way that convective rolls become more and more aligned with the magnetic field. A linear stability analysis based on two-dimensional model equations shows that the critical Rayleigh number for the onset of convection of quasi-two-dimensional flow is shifted to significantly higher values due to Hartmann braking at walls perpendicular to the magnetic field. This finding is experimentally confirmed by measured Nusselt numbers. Moreover, the experiments show that the convective heat transport at supercritical conditions is clearly diminished. Adjacent to the onset of convection there is a significant region of stationary convection with significant convective heat transfer before the flow proceeds to time-dependent convection. However, in spite of the Joule dissipation effect there is a certain range of magnetic field intensities where an enhanced heat transfer is observed. Estimates of the local isotropy properties of the flow by a four-element temperature probe demonstrate that the increase in convective heat transport is accompanied by the formation of strong non-isotropic time-dependent flow in the form of large-scale convective rolls aligned with the magnetic field which exhibit a simpler temporal structure compared to ordinary hydrodynamic flow and which are very effective for the convective heat transport.


1993 ◽  
Vol 157 ◽  
pp. 481-486
Author(s):  
N. Kleeorin ◽  
I. Rogachevskii ◽  
A. Eviatar

Magnetic field observations in the dayside ionosphere of Venus revealed the magnetic flux ropes (Russell and Elphic 1979). General properties of these small-scale magnetic field structures can be explained by the theory of magnetic fluctuations excited by random hydrodynamic flows of ionospheric plasma.A nonlinear theory of the flux tubes formation based on the Zeldovich's mechanism of amplification of the magnetic fluctuations is proposed. A nonlinear equation describing the evolution of the correlation function of the magnetic field can be derived from the induction equation, the nonlinearity being connected with the Hall effect. The large magnetic Reynolds number limit allows an asymptotic study by a modified WKB method.On the basis of this theory it is possible to explain why the flux tubes are not observed if there is a strong regular large-scale magnetic field when the ionopause is low. The theory predicts the cross section of the flux ropes in the ionosphere of Venus and the maximum value of the magnetic field inside the flux tube.


1988 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-102
Author(s):  
G.E. Brueckner

The crucial role of magnetic fields in any mechanism to heat the outer solar atmosphere has been generally accepted by all authors. However, there is still no agreement about the detailed function of the magnetic field. Heating mechanisms can be divided up into 4 classes: (I) The magnetic field plays a passive role as a suitable medium for the propagation of Alfvén waves from the convection zone into the corona (Ionson, 1984). (II) In closed magnetic structures the slow random shuffling of field lines by convective motions below the surface induces electric currents in the corona which heat it by Joule dissipation (Heyvaerts and Priest, 1984). (Ill) Emerging flux which is generated in the convection zone reacts with ionized material while magnetic field lines move through the chromosphere, transition zone and corona. Rapid field line annihilation, reconnection and drift currents result in heating and material ejection (Brueckner, 1987; Brueckner et al., 1987; Cook et al., 1987). (IV) Acoustic waves which could heat the corona can be guided by magnetic fields. Temperature distribution, wave motions and shock formation are highly dependent on the geometry of the flux tubes (Ulmschneider and Muchmore, 1986; Ulmschneider, Muchmore and Kalkofen, 1987).


1976 ◽  
Vol 71 ◽  
pp. 305-321
Author(s):  
F. Krause

Observations of the solar surface show that some of the physical quantities, especially the velocity field and the magnetic field, show random character.


1988 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-94
Author(s):  
M. Kuperus ◽  
J. Harvey

Solar Physics has been traditionally divided into Structure and Radiation of the Solar Atmosphere (commission 12) and Solar Activity (commission 10). There has been increasing evidence that solar activity, which is basically of magnetic origin, occurs on a great variety of scales arid thus immediately touches upon the structure of the solar atmosphere as well as the structure and dynamics of the convection zone. As a consequence progress in the field of origin and evolution of solar magnetic fields from a large scale, ‘the dynamo’, to small scale is included in this report. In the past few years particular attention has been paid to the fact that the fluctuations in the magnetic field are much larger than the mean field and that the dynamo modes may be stochastically excited. The question whether there is a magnetic reservoir at the bottom of the convection zone still remains to be resolved. The interaction of the convection and the magnetic field resulting in an enhancement of the magnetic field in the intergranular lanes is studied by numerical modelling.


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