scholarly journals Partial Invariants, Large-scale Dynamo Action, and the Inverse Transfer of Magnetic Helicity

2019 ◽  
Vol 887 (1) ◽  
pp. 95
Author(s):  
Nicholas M. Rathmann ◽  
Peter D. Ditlevsen
2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Cattaneo ◽  
G. Bodo ◽  
S. M. Tobias

The relationship between nonlinear large-scale dynamo action and the generation and transport of magnetic helicity is investigated at moderate values of the magnetic Reynolds number ( $Rm$ ). The model consists of a helically forced, sheared flow in a Cartesian domain. The boundary conditions are periodic in the horizontal and impenetrable for the vertical. The magnetic field is required to be vertical at the upper and lower boundaries. There are two consequences of this choice; one is that the magnetic helicity is not gauge invariant, the second is that fluxes of magnetic helicity are allowed in and out of the domain. We select the winding gauge, define all the contributions to the evolution of the helicity in this gauge and measure these contributions for various solutions of the dynamo equations. We vary $Rm$ and the shear strength, and find a rich landscape of dynamo solutions including travelling waves, pulsating waves and non-wave-like solutions. We find that, at the $Rm$ considered, the main contribution to the growth of magnetic helicity comes from processes throughout the volume of the fluid and that boundary terms respond by limiting the growth. We find that, in this magnetic Reynolds number regime, helicity conservation is not a strong constraint on large-scale dynamo action. We speculate on what may happen at higher $Rm$ .


2000 ◽  
Vol 195 ◽  
pp. 389-390
Author(s):  
G. B. Field ◽  
E. G. Blackman

Blackman & Field have shown that a working α-Ω dynamo requires finite but opposite flows of small- and large-scale magnetic helicity through a body's surface. The helicity is accompanied by magnetic energy available for dissipation. The observed solar coronal nonthermal power is consistent with the derived lower limit required. This link between dynamo field generation and nonthermal emission should generally apply to stars, spiral galaxies, and accretion disks.


2021 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Valery V. Pipin

We study the helicity density patterns which can result from the emerging bipolar regions. Using the relevant dynamo model and the magnetic helicity conservation law we find that the helicity density patterns around the bipolar regions depend on the configuration of the ambient large-scale magnetic field, and in general they show a quadrupole distribution. The position of this pattern relative to the equator can depend on the tilt of the bipolar region. We compute the time–latitude diagrams of the helicity density evolution. The longitudinally averaged effect of the bipolar regions shows two bands of sign for the density distributions in each hemisphere. Similar helicity density patterns are provided by the helicity density flux from the emerging bipolar regions subjected to surface differential rotation.


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.


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.


Entropy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 811
Author(s):  
John V. Shebalin

Solar magnetism is believed to originate through dynamo action in the tachocline. Statistical mechanics, in turn, tells us that dynamo action is an inherent property of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence, depending essentially on magnetic helicity. Here, we model the tachocline as a rotating, thin spherical shell containing MHD turbulence. Using this model, we find an expression for the entropy and from this develop the thermodynamics of MHD turbulence. This allows us to introduce the macroscopic parameters that affect magnetic self-organization and dynamo action, parameters that include magnetic helicity, as well as tachocline thickness and turbulent energy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 496 (4) ◽  
pp. 4749-4759
Author(s):  
Axel Brandenburg ◽  
Ray S Furuya

ABSTRACT We study the prospects of detecting magnetic helicity in galaxies by observing the dust polarization of the edge-on galaxy NGC 891. Our numerical results of mean-field dynamo calculations show that there should be a large-scale component of the rotationally invariant parity-odd B polarization that we predict to be negative in the first and third quadrants, and positive in the second and fourth quadrants. The large-scale parity-even E polarization is predicted to be negative near the axis and positive further away in the outskirts. These properties are shown to be mostly a consequence of the magnetic field being azimuthal and the polarized intensity being maximum at the centre of the galaxy and are not a signature of magnetic helicity.


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.


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