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Register a new userCharacterisation of the turbulent electromotive force and its magnetically-mediated quenching in a global EULAG-MHD simulation of solar convection
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We perform a mean-field analysis of the EULAG-MHD millenium simulation of global magnetohydrodynamical convection presented in Passos et al. 2014. The turbulent electromotive force operating in the simulation is assumed to be linearly related to the cyclic axisymmetric mean magnetic field and its first spatial derivatives. At every grid point in the simulations meridional plane, this assumed relationship involves 27 independent tensorial coefficients. Expanding on Racine et al. 2011, we extract these coefficients from the simulation data through a least-squares minimization procedure based on singular value decomposition. The reconstructed alpha-tensor shows good agreement with that obtained by Racine et al. 2011, who did not include derivatives of the mean-field in their fit, as well as with the alpha-tensor extracted by Augustson et al. 2015 from a distinct ASH MHD simulation. The isotropic part of the turbulent magnetic diffusivity tensor beta is positive definite and reaches values of 5.0x10^7 m2s-1 in the middle of the convecting fluid layers. The spatial variations of both alpha_phiphi and beta_phiphi component are well reproduced by expressions obtained under the SOCA, with a good matching of amplitude requiring a turbulent correlation time about five times smaller than the estimated turnover time of the small-scale turbulent flow. We find the magnetic quenching of the alpha-effect to be driven primarily by a reduction of the small-scale flows kinetic helicity, with variations of the current helicity playing a lesser role in most locations in the simulation domain. Our measurements of turbulent diffusivity quenching are restricted to the beta_phiphi component, but indicate a weaker quenching, by a factor of 1.36, than of the alpha effect, which in our simulation drops by a factor of three between the minimum and maximum phases of the magnetic cycle.
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We investigate the possible development of magnetohydrodynamical instabilities in the EULAG-MHD millenium simulation of Passos & Charbonneau (2014). This simulation sustains a large-scale magnetic cycle characterized by solar-like polarity reversals taking place on a regular multidecadal cadence, and in which zonally-oriented bands of strong magnetic field accumulate below the convective layers, in response to turbulent pumping from above in successive magnetic half-cycles. Key aspects of this simulation include low numerical dissipation and a strongly subadiabatic fluid layer underlying the convectively unstable layers corresponding to the modeled solar convection zone. These properties are conducive to the growth and development of two-dimensional instabilities otherwise suppressed by stronger dissipation. We find evidence for the action of a non-axisymmetric magnetoshear instability operating in the upper portions of the stably stratified fluid layers. We also investigate the possibility that the Tayler instability may be contributing to the destabilization of the large-scale axisymmetric magnetic component at high latitudes. On the basis of our analyses, we propose a global dynamo scenario whereby the magnetic cycle is driven primarily by turbulent dynamo action in the convecting layers, but MHD instabilities accelerate the dissipation of the magnetic field pumped down into the overshoot and stable layers, thus perhaps significantly influencing the magnetic cycle period. Support for this scenario is found in the distinct global dynamo behaviors observed in an otherwise identical EULAG-MHD simulations, using a different degree of subadiabaticity in the stable fluid layers underlying the convection zone.
Turbulent properties of the quiet Sun represent the basic state of surface conditions, and a background for various processes of solar activity. Therefore understanding of properties and dynamics of this `basic state is important for investigation of more complex phenomena, formation and development of observed phenomena in the photosphere and atmosphere. For characterization of the turbulent properties we compare kinetic energy spectra on granular and sub-granular scales obtained from infrared TiO observations with the New Solar Telescope (Big Bear Solar Observatory) and from 3D radiative MHD numerical simulations (SolarBox code). We find that the numerical simulations require a high spatial resolution with 10 - 25 km grid-step in order to reproduce the inertial (Kolmogorov) turbulence range. The observational data require an averaging procedure to remove noise and potential instrumental artifacts. The resulting kinetic energy spectra show a good agreement between the simulations and observations, opening new perspectives for detailed joint analysis of more complex turbulent phenomena on the Sun, and possibly on other stars. In addition, using the simulations and observations we investigate effects of background magnetic field, which is concentrated in self-organized complicated structures in intergranular lanes, and find an increase of the small-scale turbulence energy and its decrease at larger scales due to magnetic field effects.
Investigation of the turbulent properties of solar convection is extremely important for understanding the multi-scale dynamics observed on the solar surface. In particular, recent high-resolution observations have revealed ubiquitous vortical structures, and numerical simulations have demonstrated links between vortex tube dynamics and magnetic field organization and have shown the importance of vortex tube interactions in the mechanisms of acoustic wave excitation on the Sun. In this paper we investigate the mechanisms of the formation of vortex tubes in highly-turbulent convective flows near the solar surface by using realistic radiative hydrodynamic LES simulations. Analysis of data from the simulations indicates two basic processes of vortex tube formation: 1) development of small-scale convective instability inside convective granules, and 2) a Kelvin-Helmholtz type instability of shearing flows in intergranular lanes. Our analysis shows that vortex stretching during these processes is a primary source of generation of small-scale vorticity on the Sun.
We present results of two simulations of the convection zone, obtained by solving the full hydrodynamic equations in a section of a spherical shell. The first simulation has cylindrical rotation contours (parallel to the rotation axis) and a strong meridional circulation, which traverses the entire depth. The second simulation has isorotation contours about mid-way between cylinders and cones, and a weak meridional circulation, concentrated in the uppermost part of the shell. We show that the solar differential rotation is directly related to a latitudinal entropy gradient, which pervades into the deep layers of the convection zone. We also offer an explanation of the angular velocity shear found at low latitudes near the top. A non-zero correlation between radial and zonal velocity fluctuations produces a significant Reynolds stress in that region. This constitutes a net transport of angular momentum inwards, which causes a slight modification of the overall structure of the differential rotation near the top. In essence, the {it thermodynamics controls the dynamics through the Taylor-Proudman momentum balance}. The Reynolds stresses only become significant in the surface layers, where they generate a weak meridional circulation and an angular velocity `bump.
Electromotive force is an essential quantity in dynamo theory. During a coronal mass ejection (CME), magnetic helicity gets decoupled from the Sun and advected into the heliosphere with the solar wind. Eventually, a heliospheric magnetic transient event might pass by a spacecraft, such as the Helios space observatories. Our aim is to investigate the electromotive force, the kinetic helicity effect ($alpha$ term), the turbulent diffusion ($beta$ term) and the cross-helicity effect ($gamma$ term) in the inner heliosphere below 1 au. We set up a one-dimensional model of the solar wind velocity and magnetic field for a hypothetic interplanetary CME. Because turbulent structures within the solar wind evolve much slower than this structure needs to pass by the spacecraft, we use a reduced curl operator to compute the current density and vorticity. We test our CME shock-front model against an observed magnetic transient that passes by the Helios-2 spacecraft. At the peak of the fluctuations in this event we find strongly enhanced $alpha$, $beta$ and $gamma$ terms, as well as a strong peak in the total electromotive force. Our method allows us to automatically identify magnetic transient events from any in-situ spacecraft observations that contain magnetic field and plasma velocity data of the solar wind.
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