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Register a new userCurrent helicity constraints in solar dynamo models
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We investigate to what extent the current helicity distribution observed in solar active regions is compatible with solar dynamo models. We use an advanced 2D mean-field dynamo model with dynamo action largely concentrated near the bottom of the convective zone, and dynamo saturation based on the evolution of the magnetic helicity and algebraic quenching. For comparison, we also studied a more basic 2D mean-field dynamo model with simple algebraic alpha quenching only. Using these numerical models we obtain butterfly diagrams for both the small-scale current helicity and the large-scale magnetic helicity, and compare them with the butterfly diagram for the current helicity in active regions obtained from observations. This comparison shows that the current helicity of active regions, as estimated by $-A cdot B$ evaluated at the depth from which the active region arises, resembles the observational data much better than the small-scale current helicity calculated directly from the helicity evolution equation. Here $B$ and $A$ are respectively the dynamo generated mean magnetic field and its vector potential.
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In this paper we study the effects of hemispheric imbalance of magnetic helicity density on breaking the equatorial reflection symmetry of the dynamo generated large-scale magnetic field. Our study employs the axisymmetric dynamo model which takes into account the nonlinear effect of magnetic helicity conservation. We find that the evolution of the net magnetic helicity density, in other words, the magnetic helicity imbalance, on the surface follows the evolution of the parity of the large-scale magnetic field. Random fluctuations of the $alpha$-effect and the helicity fluxes can inverse the causal relationship, i.e., the magnetic helicity imbalance or the imbalance of magnetic helicity fluxes can drive the magnetic parity breaking. We also found that evolution of the net magnetic helicity of the small-scale fields follows the evolution of the net magnetic helicity of the large-scale fields with some time lag. We interpret this as an effect of the difference of the magnetic helicity fluxes out of the Sun from the large and small scales.
Helioseismology provides important constraints for the solar dynamo problem. However, the basic properties and even the depth of the dynamo process, which operates also in other stars, are unknown. Most of the dynamo models suggest that the toroidal magnetic field that emerges on the surface and forms sunspots is generated near the bottom of the convection zone, in the tachocline. However, there is a number of theoretical and observational problems with justifying the deep-seated dynamo models. This leads to the idea that the subsurface angular velocity shear may play an important role in the solar dynamo. Using helioseismology measurements of the internal rotation and meridional circulation, we investigate a mean-field MHD model of dynamo distributed in the bulk of the convection zone but shaped in a near-surface layer. We show that if the boundary conditions at the top of the dynamo region allow the large-scale toroidal magnetic fields to penetrate into the surface, then the dynamo wave propagates along the isosurface of angular velocity in the subsurface shear layer, forming the butterfly diagram in agreement with the Parker-Yoshimura rule and solar-cycle observations. Unlike the flux-transport dynamo models, this model does not depend on the transport of magnetic field by meridional circulation at the bottom of the convection zone, and works well when the meridional circulation forms two cells in radius, as recently indicated by deep-focus time-distance helioseismology analysis of the SDO/HMI and SOHO/MDI data. We compare the new dynamo model with various characteristics if the solar magnetic cycles, including the cycle asymmetry (Waldmeiers relations) and magnetic `butterfly diagrams.
In the paper 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 pattern around the bipolar regions depends on the configuration of the ambient large-scale magnetic field, and in general they show the 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 show two bands of sign for the density distribution in each hemisphere. Similar helicity density patterns are provided by the helicity density flux from the emerging bipolar regions subjected to the surface differential rotation. Examining effect of helicity fluxes from the bipolar regions on the large-scale dynamo we find that its effect to the dynamo saturation is negligible.
The electric current helicity density $displaystyle chi=langleepsilon_{ijk}b_ifrac{partial b_k}{partial x_j}rangle$ contains six terms, where $b_i$ are components of the magnetic field. Due to the observational limitations, only four of the above six terms can be inferred from solar photospheric vector magnetograms. By comparing the results for simulation we distinguished the statistical difference of above six terms for isotropic and anisotropic cases. We estimated the relative degree of anisotropy for three typical active regions and found that it is of order 0.8 which means the assumption of local isotropy for the observable current helicity density terms is generally not satisfied for solar active regions. Upon studies of the statistical properties of the anisotropy of magnetic field of solar active regions with latitudes and with evolution in the solar cycle, we conclude that the consistency of that assumption of local homogeneity and isotropy requires further analysis in the light of our findings.
We demonstrate that the current helicity observed in solar active regions traces the magnetic helicity of the large-scale dynamo generated field. We use an advanced 2D mean-field dynamo model with dynamo saturation based on the evolution of the magnetic helicity and algebraic quenching. For comparison, we also studied a more basic 2D mean-field dynamo model with simple algebraic alpha quenching only. Using these numerical models we obtained butterfly diagrams both for the small-scale current helicity and also for the large-scale magnetic helicity, and compared them with the butterfly diagram for the current helicity in active regions obtained from observations. This comparison shows that the current helicity of active regions, as estimated by $-{bf A cdot B}$ evaluated at the depth from which the active region arises, resembles the observational data much better than the small-scale current helicity calculated directly from the helicity evolution equation. Here ${bf B}$ and ${bf A}$ are respectively the dynamo generated mean magnetic field and its vector potential. A theoretical interpretation of these results is given.
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