scholarly journals Hydromagnetic dynamos at the low Ekman and magnetic Prandtl numbers

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.

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 293-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomáš Šoltis ◽  
Ján Šimkanin

Abstract We present an investigation of dynamo in a simultaneous dependence on the non-uniform stratification, electrical conductivity of the inner core and the Prandtl number. Computations are performed using the MAG dynamo code. In all the investigated cases, the generated magnetic fields are dipolar. Our results show that the dynamos, especially magnetic field structures, are independent in our investigated cases on the electrical conductivity of the inner core. This is in agreement with results obtained in previous analyses. The influence of non-uniform stratification is for our parameters weak, which is understandable because most of the shell is unstably stratified, and the stably stratified region is only a thin layer near the CMB. The teleconvection is not observed in our study. However, the influence of the Prandtl number is strong. The generated magnetic fields do not become weak in the polar regions because the magnetic field inside the tangent cylinder is always regenerated due to the weak magnetic diffusion.


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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 492 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Bugli ◽  
J Guilet ◽  
M Obergaulinger ◽  
P Cerdá-Durán ◽  
M A Aloy

ABSTRACT The magnetic field is believed to play an important role in at least some core-collapse supernovae (CCSN) if its magnitude reaches $10^{15}\, \rm {G}$, which is a typical value for a magnetar. In the presence of fast rotation, such a strong magnetic field can drive powerful jet-like explosions if it has the large-scale coherence of a dipole. The topology of the magnetic field is, however, probably much more complex with strong multipolar and small-scale components and the consequences for the explosion are so far unclear. We investigate the effects of the magnetic field topology on the dynamics of CCSN and the properties of the forming proto-neutron star (PNS) by comparing pre-collapse fields of different multipolar orders and radial profiles. Using axisymmetric special relativistic MHD simulations and a two-moment neutrino transport, we find that higher multipolar magnetic configurations lead to generally less energetic explosions, slower expanding shocks, and less collimated outflows. Models with a low order multipolar configuration tend to produce more oblate PNS, surrounded in some cases by a rotationally supported toroidal structure of neutron-rich material. Moreover, magnetic fields which are distributed on smaller angular scales produce more massive and faster rotating central PNS, suggesting that higher order multipolar configurations tend to decrease the efficiency of the magnetorotational launching mechanism. Even if our dipolar models systematically display a far more efficient extraction of the rotational energy of the PNS, fields distributed on smaller angular scales are still capable of powering magnetorotational explosions and shape the evolution of the central compact object.


2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S254) ◽  
pp. 95-96
Author(s):  
Arthur M. Wolfe ◽  
Regina A. Jorgenson ◽  
Timothy Robishaw ◽  
Carl Heiles ◽  
Jason X. Prochaska

AbstractThe magnetic field pervading our Galaxy is a crucial constituent of the interstellar medium: it mediates the dynamics of interstellar clouds, the energy density of cosmic rays, and the formation of stars (Beck 2005). The field associated with ionized interstellar gas has been determined through observations of pulsars in our Galaxy. Radio-frequency measurements of pulse dispersion and the rotation of the plane of linear polarization, i.e., Faraday rotation, yield an average value B ≈ 3 μG (Han et al. 2006). The possible detection of Faraday rotation of linearly polarized photons emitted by high-redshift quasars (Kronberg et al. 2008) suggests similar magnetic fields are present in foreground galaxies with redshifts z > 1. As Faraday rotation alone, however, determines neither the magnitude nor the redshift of the magnetic field, the strength of galactic magnetic fields at redshifts z > 0 remains uncertain.Here we report a measurement of a magnetic field of B ≈ 84 μG in a galaxy at z =0.692, using the same Zeeman-splitting technique that revealed an average value of B = 6 μG in the neutral interstellar gas of our Galaxy (Heiles et al. 2004). This is unexpected, as the leading theory of magnetic field generation, the mean-field dynamo model, predicts large-scale magnetic fields to be weaker in the past, rather than stronger (Parker 1970).The full text of this paper was published in Nature (Wolfe et al. 2008).


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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 636 ◽  
pp. A93 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. Käpylä ◽  
M. Rheinhardt ◽  
A. Brandenburg ◽  
M. J. Käpylä

Context. Turbulent diffusion of large-scale flows and magnetic fields plays a major role in many astrophysical systems, such as stellar convection zones and accretion discs. Aims. Our goal is to compute turbulent viscosity and magnetic diffusivity which are relevant for diffusing large-scale flows and magnetic fields, respectively. We also aim to compute their ratio, which is the turbulent magnetic Prandtl number, Pmt, for isotropically forced homogeneous turbulence. Methods. We used simulations of forced turbulence in fully periodic cubes composed of isothermal gas with an imposed large-scale sinusoidal shear flow. Turbulent viscosity was computed either from the resulting Reynolds stress or from the decay rate of the large-scale flow. Turbulent magnetic diffusivity was computed using the test-field method for a microphysical magnetic Prandtl number of unity. The scale dependence of the coefficients was studied by varying the wavenumber of the imposed sinusoidal shear and test fields. Results. We find that turbulent viscosity and magnetic diffusivity are in general of the same order of magnitude. Furthermore, the turbulent viscosity depends on the fluid Reynolds number (Re) and scale separation ratio of turbulence. The scale dependence of the turbulent viscosity is found to be well approximated by a Lorentzian. These results are similar to those obtained earlier for the turbulent magnetic diffusivity. The results for the turbulent transport coefficients appear to converge at sufficiently high values of Re and the scale separation ratio. However, a weak trend is found even at the largest values of Re, suggesting that the turbulence is not in the fully developed regime. The turbulent magnetic Prandtl number converges to a value that is slightly below unity for large Re. For small Re we find values between 0.5 and 0.6 but the data are insufficient to draw conclusions regarding asymptotics. We demonstrate that our results are independent of the correlation time of the forcing function. Conclusions. The turbulent magnetic diffusivity is, in general, consistently higher than the turbulent viscosity, which is in qualitative agreement with analytic theories. However, the actual value of Pmt found from the simulations (≈0.9−0.95) at large Re and large scale separation ratio is higher than any of the analytic predictions (0.4−0.8).


1976 ◽  
Vol 71 ◽  
pp. 323-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.-H. Rädler

One of the most striking features of both the magnetic field and the motions observed at the Sun is their highly irregular or random character which indicates the presence of rather complicated magnetohydrodynamic processes. Of great importance in this context is a comprehension of the behaviour of the large scale components of the magnetic field; large scales are understood here as length scales in the order of the solar radius and time scales of a few years. Since there is a strong relationship between these components and the solar 22-years cycle, an insight into the mechanism controlling these components also provides for an insight into the mechanism of the cycle. The large scale components of the magnetic field are determined not only by their interaction with the large scale components of motion. On the contrary, a very important part is played also by an interaction between the large and the small scale components of magnetic field and motion so that a very complicated situation has to be considered.


2004 ◽  
Vol 11 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 535-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Voitenko ◽  
M. Goossens

Abstract. There is abundant observational evidence that the energization of plasma particles in space is correlated with an enhanced activity of large-scale MHD waves. Since these waves cannot interact with particles, we need to find ways for these MHD waves to transport energy in the dissipation range formed by small-scale or high-frequency waves, which are able to interact with particles. In this paper we consider the dissipation range formed by the kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs) which are very short- wavelengths across the magnetic field irrespectively of their frequency. We study a nonlocal nonlinear mechanism for the excitation of KAWs by MHD waves via resonant decay AW(FW)→KAW1+KAW2, where the MHD wave can be either an Alfvén wave (AW), or a fast magneto-acoustic wave (FW). The resonant decay thus provides a non-local energy transport from large scales directly in the dissipation range. The decay is efficient at low amplitudes of the magnetic field in the MHD waves, B/B0~10-2. In turn, KAWs are very efficient in the energy exchange with plasma particles, providing plasma heating and acceleration in a variety of space plasmas. An anisotropic energy deposition in the field-aligned degree of freedom for the electrons, and in the cross-field degrees of freedom for the ions, is typical for KAWs. A few relevant examples are discussed concerning nonlinear excitation of KAWs by the MHD wave flux and consequent plasma energization in the solar corona and terrestrial magnetosphere.


2019 ◽  
Vol 630 ◽  
pp. A99 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Lavail ◽  
O. Kochukhov ◽  
G. A. J. Hussain

Aims. In this paper, we aim to characterise the surface magnetic fields of a sample of eight T Tauri stars from high-resolution near-infrared spectroscopy. Some stars in our sample are known to be magnetic from previous spectroscopic or spectropolarimetric studies. Our goals are firstly to apply Zeeman broadening modelling to T Tauri stars with high-resolution data, secondly to expand the sample of stars with measured surface magnetic field strengths, thirdly to investigate possible rotational or long-term magnetic variability by comparing spectral time series of given targets, and fourthly to compare the magnetic field modulus ⟨B⟩ tracing small-scale magnetic fields to those of large-scale magnetic fields derived by Stokes V Zeeman Doppler Imaging (ZDI) studies. Methods. We modelled the Zeeman broadening of magnetically sensitive spectral lines in the near-infrared K-band from high-resolution spectra by using magnetic spectrum synthesis based on realistic model atmospheres and by using different descriptions of the surface magnetic field. We developped a Bayesian framework that selects the complexity of the magnetic field prescription based on the information contained in the data. Results. We obtain individual magnetic field measurements for each star in our sample using four different models. We find that the Bayesian Model 4 performs best in the range of magnetic fields measured on the sample (from 1.5 kG to 4.4 kG). We do not detect a strong rotational variation of ⟨B⟩ with a mean peak-to-peak variation of 0.3 kG. Our confidence intervals are of the same order of magnitude, which suggests that the Zeeman broadening is produced by a small-scale magnetic field homogeneously distributed over stellar surfaces. A comparison of our results with mean large-scale magnetic field measurements from Stokes V ZDI show different fractions of mean field strength being recovered, from 25–42% for relatively simple poloidal axisymmetric field topologies to 2–11% for more complex fields.


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