On the spontaneous magnetic field in a conducting liquid in turbulent motion

Several recent investigations in geophysics and astrophysics have involved a consideration of the hydrodynamics of a fluid which is a good electrical conductor. In this paper one of the problems which seem likely to arise in such investigations is discussed. The fluid is assumed to be incompressible and in homogeneous turbulent motion, and externally imposed electric and magnetic fields are assumed to be absent. The equations governing the interaction of the electromagnetic field and the turbulent motion are set up with the same assumptions as are used to obtain the Maxwell and current flow equations for a metallic conductor. It is shown that the equation for the magnetic field is identical in form with that for the vorticity in a non-conducting fluid; immediate deductions are that lines of magnetic force move with the fluid when the conductivity is infinite, and that the small-scale components of the turbulence have the more powerful effect on the magnetic field. The first question considered is the stability of a purely hydrodynamical system to small disturbing magnetic fields, and it is shown that the magnetic energy of the disturbance will increase provided the conductivity is greater than a critical value determined by the viscosity of the fluid. The rate of growth of magnetic energy is approximately exponential, with a doubling time which can be simply related to the properties of the turbulence. General mechanical considerations suggest that a steady state is reached when the magnetic field has as much energy as is contained in the small-scale components of the turbulence. Estimates of this amount of energy and of the region of the spectrum in which it will lie are given in terms of observable properties of the turbulence.

2011 ◽  
Vol 133 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacques C. Richard ◽  
Benjamin M. Riley ◽  
Sharath S. Girimaji

We perform direct numerical simulations of decaying magnetohydrodynamic turbulence subject to initially uniform or random magnetic fields. We investigate the following features: (i) kinetic–magnetic energy exchange and velocity field anisotropy, (ii) action of Lorentz force, (iii) enstrophy and helicity behavior, and (iv) internal structure of the small scales. While tendency toward kinetic–magnetic energy equi-partition is observed in both uniform and random magnetic field simulations, the manner of approach to that state is very different in the two cases. Overall, the role of the Lorentz force is merely to bring about the equi-partition. No significant variance anisotropy of velocity fluctuations is observed in any of the simulations. The mechanism of enstrophy generation changes with the strength of the magnetic field, and helicity shows no significant growth in any of the cases. The small-scale structure (orientation between vorticity and strain-rate eigenvectors) does not appear to be influenced by the magnetic field.


Data ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Evgeny Mikhailov ◽  
Daniela Boneva ◽  
Maria Pashentseva

A wide range of astrophysical objects, such as the Sun, galaxies, stars, planets, accretion discs etc., have large-scale magnetic fields. Their generation is often based on the dynamo mechanism, which is connected with joint action of the alpha-effect and differential rotation. They compete with the turbulent diffusion. If the dynamo is intensive enough, the magnetic field grows, else it decays. The magnetic field evolution is described by Steenbeck—Krause—Raedler equations, which are quite difficult to be solved. So, for different objects, specific two-dimensional models are used. As for thin discs (this shape corresponds to galaxies and accretion discs), usually, no-z approximation is used. Some of the partial derivatives are changed by the algebraic expressions, and the solenoidality condition is taken into account as well. The field generation is restricted by the equipartition value and saturates if the field becomes comparable with it. From the point of view of mathematical physics, they can be characterized as stable points of the equations. The field can come to these values monotonously or have oscillations. It depends on the type of the stability of these points, whether it is a node or focus. Here, we study the stability of such points and give examples for astrophysical applications.


2019 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
pp. 365-371
Author(s):  
K. Augustson ◽  
S. Mathis ◽  
A. Strugarek

This paper provides a brief overview of the formation of stellar fossil magnetic fields and what potential instabilities may occur given certain configurations of the magnetic field. One such instability is the purely magnetic Tayler instability, which can occur for poloidal, toroidal, and mixed poloidal-toroidal axisymmetric magnetic field configurations. However, most of the magnetic field configurations observed at the surface of massive stars are non-axisymmetric. Thus, extending earlier studies in spherical geometry, we introduce a formulation for the global change in the potential energy contained in a convectively-stable region for both axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric magnetic fields.


2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (01) ◽  
pp. 1750184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxim Dvornikov

We analyze the magnetic field evolution in dense quark matter with unbroken chiral symmetry, which can be found inside quark and hybrid stars. The magnetic field evolves owing to the chiral magnetic effect in the presence of the electroweak interaction between quarks. In our study, we also take into account the magnetohydrodynamic turbulence effects in dense quark matter. We derive the kinetic equations for the spectra of the magnetic helicity density and the magnetic energy density as well as for the chiral imbalances. On the basis of the numerical solution of these equations, we find that turbulence effects are important for the behavior of small scale magnetic fields. It is revealed that, under certain initial conditions, these magnetic fields behave similarly to the electromagnetic flashes of some magnetars. We suggest that fluctuations of magnetic fields, described in frames of our model, which are created in the central regions of a magnetized compact star, can initiate magnetar bursts.


1975 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 443-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. B. Chakraborty ◽  
H. K. S. Iyengar

This paper studies the hydromagnetic stability of a cylindrical jet of a perfectly-conducting, inviscid and compressible fluid. The fluid velocities and magnetic fields, inside and outside the jet, are uniform and in the axial direction, with possible discontinuities in their values across the jet surface. For large wavelength disturbances, the jet behaves as though it were incompressible. Numerical evaluation of the roots of the dispersion relation for a number of different magnetic-field strengths and jet velocities, but for disturbances of finite ranges of wavenumbers, indicates that the jet is stable against axisymmetric disturbances, but instability is present for asymmetric disturbances when the magnetic fields are sufficiently small. The magnetic field is found to have a stabilizinginfluence when compressibility is not very large; for high compressibility, it may have even a destabilizing effect. The paper explains physically the roles of compressibility and the magnetic field in bringing about the stability of the jet. When the wavelengths of disturbances are small, the dispersion relation reduces to that for a two-dimensional jet and a vortex sheet; and the results for these cases are known from earlier studies.


The first part of the paper is a physical discussion of the way in which a magnetic field affects the stability of a fluid in motion. Particular emphasis is given to how the magnetic field affects the interaction of the disturbance with the mean motion. The second part is an analysis of the stability of plane parallel flows of fluids with finite viscosity and conductivity under the action of uniform parallel magnetic fields. We show that, in general, three-dimensional disturbances are the most unstable, thus disagreeing with the conclusion of Michael (1953) and Stuart (1954). We show how results obtained for two-dimensional disturbances can be used to calculate the most unstable three-dimensional disturbances and thence we prove that a parallel magnetic field can never completely stabilize a parallel flow.


Author(s):  
Robert Cameron

The solar dynamo is the action of flows inside the Sun to maintain its magnetic field against Ohmic decay. On small scales the magnetic field is seen at the solar surface as a ubiquitous “salt-and-pepper” disorganized field that may be generated directly by the turbulent convection. On large scales, the magnetic field is remarkably organized, with an 11-year activity cycle. During each cycle the field emerging in each hemisphere has a specific East–West alignment (known as Hale’s law) that alternates from cycle to cycle, and a statistical tendency for a North-South alignment (Joy’s law). The polar fields reverse sign during the period of maximum activity of each cycle. The relevant flows for the large-scale dynamo are those of convection, the bulk rotation of the Sun, and motions driven by magnetic fields, as well as flows produced by the interaction of these. Particularly important are the Sun’s large-scale differential rotation (for example, the equator rotates faster than the poles), and small-scale helical motions resulting from the Coriolis force acting on convective motions or on the motions associated with buoyantly rising magnetic flux. These two types of motions result in a magnetic cycle. In one phase of the cycle, differential rotation winds up a poloidal magnetic field to produce a toroidal field. Subsequently, helical motions are thought to bend the toroidal field to create new poloidal magnetic flux that reverses and replaces the poloidal field that was present at the start of the cycle. It is now clear that both small- and large-scale dynamo action are in principle possible, and the challenge is to understand which combination of flows and driving mechanisms are responsible for the time-dependent magnetic fields seen on the Sun.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (S336) ◽  
pp. 285-286
Author(s):  
Daria Dall’Olio ◽  
W. H. T. Vlemmings ◽  
G. Surcis ◽  
H. Beuther ◽  
B. Lankhaar ◽  
...  

AbstractTheoretical simulations have shown that magnetic fields play an important role in massive star formation: they can suppress fragmentation in the star forming cloud, enhance accretion via disc and regulate outflows and jets. However, models require specific magnetic configurations and need more observational constraints to properly test the impact of magnetic fields. We investigate the magnetic field structure of the massive protostar IRAS18089-1732, analysing 6.7 GHz CH3OH maser MERLIN observations. IRAS18089-1732 is a well studied high mass protostar, showing a hot core chemistry, an accretion disc and a bipolar outflow. An ordered magnetic field oriented around its disc has been detected from previous observations of polarised dust. This gives us the chance to investigate how the magnetic field at the small scale probed by masers relates to the large scale field probed by the dust.


2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 221-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ján Šimkanin

Abstract Hydromagnetic dynamos are numerically investigated at low Prandtl, Ekman and magnetic Prandtl numbers using the PARODY dynamo code. In all the investigated cases, the generated magnetic fields are dominantly-dipolar. Convection is small-scale and columnar, while the magnetic field maintains its large-scale structure. In this study the generated magnetic field never becomes weak in the polar regions, neither at large magnetic Prandtl numbers (when the magnetic diffusion is weak), nor at low magnetic Prandtl numbers (when the magnetic diffusion is strong), which is a completely different situation to that observed in previous studies. As magnetic fields never become weak in the polar regions, then the magnetic field is always regenerated in the tangent cylinder. At both values of the magnetic Prandtl number, strong polar magnetic upwellings and weaker equatorial upwellings are observed. An occurrence of polar magnetic upwellings is coupled with a regenaration of magnetic fields inside the tangent cylinder and then with a not weakened intensity of magnetic fields in the polar regions. These new results indicate that inertia and viscosity are probably negligible at low Ekman numbers.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (A30) ◽  
pp. 299-302
Author(s):  
Annalisa Bonafede ◽  
Chiara Stuardi ◽  
Federica Savini ◽  
Franco Vazza ◽  
Marcus Brüggen

AbstractMagnetic fields originate small-scale instabilities in the plasma of the intra-cluster medium, and may have a key role to understand particle acceleration mechanisms. Recent observations at low radio frequencies have revealed that synchrotron emission from galaxy clusters is more various and complicated than previously thought, and new types of radio sources have been observed. In the last decade, big steps forward have been done to constrain the magnetic field properties in clusters thanks to a combined approach of polarisation observations and numerical simulations that aim to reproduce Faraday Rotation measures of sources observed through the intra-cluster medium. In this contribution, I will review the results on magnetic fields reached in the last years, and I will discuss the assumptions that have been done so far in light of new results obtained from cosmological simulations. I will also discuss how the next generation of radio instruments, as the SKA, will help improving our knowledge of the magnetic field in the intra-cluster medium.


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