2,028 research outputs found
A self-sustaining nonlinear dynamo process in Keplerian shear flows
A three-dimensional nonlinear dynamo process is identified in rotating plane
Couette flow in the Keplerian regime. It is analogous to the hydrodynamic
self-sustaining process in non-rotating shear flows and relies on the
magneto-rotational instability of a toroidal magnetic field. Steady nonlinear
solutions are computed numerically for a wide range of magnetic Reynolds
numbers but are restricted to low Reynolds numbers. This process may be
important to explain the sustenance of coherent fields and turbulent motions in
Keplerian accretion disks, where all its basic ingredients are present.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review
Letter
Linear and non-linear theory of a parametric instability of hydrodynamic warps in Keplerian discs
We consider the stability of warping modes in Keplerian discs. We find them
to be parametrically unstable using two lines of attack, one based on
three-mode couplings and the other on Floquet theory. We confirm the existence
of the instability, and investigate its nonlinear development in three
dimensions, via numerical experiment. The most rapidly growing non-axisymmetric
disturbances are the most nearly axisymmetric (low m) ones. Finally, we offer a
simple, somewhat speculative model for the interaction of the parametric
instability with the warp. We apply this model to the masing disc in NGC 4258
and show that, provided the warp is not forced too strongly, parametric
instability can fix the amplitude of the warp.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, revised version with appendix added, to be
published in MNRA
Dissipative effects on the sustainment of a magnetorotational dynamo in Keplerian shear flow
The magnetorotational (MRI) dynamo has long been considered one of the
possible drivers of turbulent angular momentum transport in astrophysical
accretion disks. However, various numerical results suggest that this dynamo
may be difficult to excite in the astrophysically relevant regime of magnetic
Prandtl number (Pm) significantly smaller than unity, for reasons currently not
well understood. The aim of this article is to present the first results of an
ongoing numerical investigation of the role of both linear and nonlinear
dissipative effects in this problem. Combining a parametric exploration and an
energy analysis of incompressible nonlinear MRI dynamo cycles representative of
the transitional dynamics in large aspect ratio shearing boxes, we find that
turbulent magnetic diffusion makes the excitation and sustainment of this
dynamo at moderate magnetic Reynolds number (Rm) increasingly difficult for
decreasing Pm. This results in an increase in the critical Rm of the dynamo for
increasing kinematic Reynolds number (Re), in agreement with earlier numerical
results. Given its very generic nature, we argue that turbulent magnetic
diffusion could be an important determinant of MRI dynamo excitation in disks,
and may also limit the efficiency of angular momentum transport by MRI
turbulence in low Pm regimes.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Magnetorotational dynamo chimeras. The missing link to turbulent accretion disk dynamo models?
In Keplerian accretion disks, turbulence and magnetic fields may be jointly
excited through a subcritical dynamo process involving the magnetorotational
instability (MRI). High-resolution simulations exhibit a tendency towards
statistical self-organization of MRI dynamo turbulence into large-scale cyclic
dynamics. Understanding the physical origin of these structures, and whether
they can be sustained and transport angular momentum efficiently in
astrophysical conditions, represents a significant theoretical challenge. The
discovery of simple periodic nonlinear MRI dynamo solutions has recently proven
useful in this respect, and has notably served to highlight the role of
turbulent magnetic diffusion in the seeming decay of the dynamics at low
magnetic Prandtl number Pm (magnetic diffusivity larger than viscosity), a
common regime in accretion disks. The connection between these simple
structures and the statistical organization reported in turbulent simulations
remained elusive, though. Here, we report the numerical discovery in moderate
aspect ratio Keplerian shearing boxes of new periodic, incompressible,
three-dimensional nonlinear MRI dynamo solutions with a larger dynamical
complexity reminiscent of such simulations. These "chimera" cycles are
characterized by multiple MRI-unstable dynamical stages, but their basic
physical principles of self-sustainment are nevertheless identical to those of
simpler cycles found in azimuthally elongated boxes. In particular, we find
that they are not sustained at low Pm either due to subcritical turbulent
magnetic diffusion. These solutions offer a new perspective into the transition
from laminar to turbulent instability-driven dynamos, and may prove useful to
devise improved statistical models of turbulent accretion disk dynamos.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, submitted to A&
Secular interactions between inclined planets and a gaseous disk
In a planetary system, a secular particle resonance occurs at a location
where the precession rate of a test particle (e.g. an asteroid) matches the
frequency of one of the precessional modes of the planetary system. We
investigate the secular interactions of a system of mutually inclined planets
with a gaseous protostellar disk that may contain a secular nodal particle
resonance. We determine the normal modes of some mutually inclined planet-disk
systems. The planets and disk interact gravitationally, and the disk is
internally subject to the effects of gas pressure, self-gravity, and turbulent
viscosity. The behavior of the disk at a secular resonance is radically
different from that of a particle, owing mainly to the effects of gas pressure.
The resonance is typically broadened by gas pressure to the extent that global
effects, including large-scale warps, dominate. The standard resonant torque
formula is invalid in this regime. Secular interactions cause a decay of the
inclination at a rate that depends on the disk properties, including its mass,
turbulent viscosity, and sound speed. For a Jupiter-mass planet embedded within
a minimum-mass solar nebula having typical parameters, dissipation within the
disk is sufficient to stabilize the system against tilt growth caused by
mean-motion resonances.Comment: 30 pages, 6 figures, to be published in The Astrophysical Journa
Periodic magnetorotational dynamo action as a prototype of nonlinear magnetic field generation in shear flows
The nature of dynamo action in shear flows prone to magnetohydrodynamic
instabilities is investigated using the magnetorotational dynamo in Keplerian
shear flow as a prototype problem. Using direct numerical simulations and
Newton's method, we compute an exact time-periodic magnetorotational dynamo
solution to the three-dimensional dissipative incompressible
magnetohydrodynamic equations with rotation and shear. We discuss the physical
mechanism behind the cycle and show that it results from a combination of
linear and nonlinear interactions between a large-scale axisymmetric toroidal
magnetic field and non-axisymmetric perturbations amplified by the
magnetorotational instability. We demonstrate that this large scale dynamo
mechanism is overall intrinsically nonlinear and not reducible to the standard
mean-field dynamo formalism. Our results therefore provide clear evidence for a
generic nonlinear generation mechanism of time-dependent coherent large-scale
magnetic fields in shear flows and call for new theoretical dynamo models.
These findings may offer important clues to understand the transitional and
statistical properties of subcritical magnetorotational turbulence.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review
Magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in warped accretion discs
Warped, precessing accretion discs appear in a range of astrophysical
systems, for instance the X-ray binary Her X-1 and in the active nucleus of
NGC4258. In a warped accretion disc there are horizontal pressure gradients
that drive an epicyclic motion. We have studied the interaction of this
epicyclic motion with the magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in numerical
simulations. We find that the turbulent stress acting on the epicyclic motion
is comparable in size to the stress that drives the accretion, however an
important ingredient in the damping of the epicyclic motion is its parametric
decay into inertial waves.Comment: to appear in the proceedings of the 20th Texas Symposium on
Relativistic Astrophysics, J. C. Wheeler & H. Martel (eds.
Molecular line opacity of LiCl in the mid-infrared spectra of brown dwarfs
We present a complete line list for the X 1Sigma+ electronic ground state of
LiCl computed using fully quantum-mechanical techniques. This list includes
transition energies and oscillator strengths in the spectral region
0.3-39,640.7 cm-1 for all allowed rovibrational transitions in absorption
within the electronic ground state. The calculations were performed using an
accurate hybrid potential constructed from a spectral inversion fit of
experimental data and from recent multi-reference single- and double-excitation
configuration interaction calculations. The line list was incorporated into the
stellar atmosphere code PHOENIX to compute spectra for a range of young to old
T dwarf models. The possibility of observing a signature of LiCl in absorption
near 15.8 microns is addressed and the proposal to use this feature to estimate
the total lithium elemental abundance for these cool objects is discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in ApJ 613,
Sept. 20 200
The response of a turbulent accretion disc to an imposed epicyclic shearing motion
We excite an epicyclic motion, whose amplitude depends on the vertical
position, , in a simulation of a turbulent accretion disc. An epicyclic
motion of this kind may be caused by a warping of the disc. By studying how the
epicyclic motion decays we can obtain information about the interaction between
the warp and the disc turbulence. A high amplitude epicyclic motion decays
first by exciting inertial waves through a parametric instability, but its
subsequent exponential damping may be reproduced by a turbulent viscosity. We
estimate the effective viscosity parameter, , pertaining to
such a vertical shear. We also gain new information on the properties of the
disc turbulence in general, and measure the usual viscosity parameter,
, pertaining to a horizontal (Keplerian) shear. We find that,
as is often assumed in theoretical studies, is approximately
equal to and both are much less than unity, for the field
strengths achieved in our local box calculations of turbulence. In view of the
smallness () of and we conclude
that for the timescale for diffusion
or damping of a warp is much shorter than the usual viscous timescale. Finally,
we review the astrophysical implications.Comment: 12 pages, 18 figures, MNRAS accepte
Are Magnetic Wind-Driving Disks Inherently Unstable?
There have been claims in the literature that accretion disks in which a
centrifugally driven wind is the dominant mode of angular momentum transport
are inherently unstable. This issue is considered here by applying an
equilibrium-curve analysis to the wind-driving, ambipolar diffusion-dominated,
magnetic disk model of Wardle & Konigl (1993). The equilibrium solution curves
for this class of models typically exhibit two distinct branches. It is argued
that only one of these branches represents unstable equilibria and that a real
disk/wind system likely corresponds to a stable solution.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, to be published in ApJ, vol. 617 (2004 Dec 20).
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