1,559 research outputs found
Transport of toroidal magnetic field by the meridional flow at the base of the solar convection zone
In this paper we discuss the transport of toroidal magnetic field by a weak
meridional flow at the base of the convection zone. We utilize the differential
rotation and meridional flow model developed by Rempel and incorporate feedback
of a purely toroidal magnetic field in two ways: directly through the Lorentz
force (magnetic tension) and indirectly through quenching of the turbulent
viscosity, which affects the parametrized turbulent angular momentum transport
in the model. In the case of direct Lorentz force feedback we find that a
meridional flow with an amplitude of around 2 m/s can transport a magnetic
field with a strength of 20 to 30 kG. Quenching of turbulent viscosity leads to
deflection of the meridional flow from the magnetized region and a significant
reduction of the transport velocity if the magnetic field is above
equipartition strength.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure
On-off intermittency and amplitude-phase synchronization in Keplerian shear flows
We study the development of coherent structures in local simulations of the
magnetorotational instability in accretion discs in regimes of on-off
intermittency. In a previous paper [Chian et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 254102
(2010)], we have shown that the laminar and bursty states due to the on-off
spatiotemporal intermittency in a one-dimensional model of nonlinear waves
correspond, respectively, to nonattracting coherent structures with higher and
lower degrees of amplitude-phase synchronization. In this paper we extend these
results to a three-dimensional model of magnetized Keplerian shear flows.
Keeping the kinetic Reynolds number and the magnetic Prandtl number fixed, we
investigate two different intermittent regimes by varying the plasma beta
parameter. The first regime is characterized by turbulent patterns interrupted
by the recurrent emergence of a large-scale coherent structure known as
two-channel flow, where the state of the system can be described by a single
Fourier mode. The second regime is dominated by the turbulence with sporadic
emergence of coherent structures with shapes that are reminiscent of a
perturbed channel flow. By computing the Fourier power and phase spectral
entropies in three-dimensions, we show that the large-scale coherent structures
are characterized by a high degree of amplitude-phase synchronization.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figure
Route to hyperchaos in Rayleigh-Benard convection
Transition to hyperchaotic regimes in Rayleigh-Benard convection in a square
periodicity cell is studied by three-dimensional numerical simulations. By
fixing the Prandtl number at P=0.3 and varying the Rayleigh number as a control
parameter, a bifurcation diagram is constructed where a route to hyperchaos
involving quasiperiodic regimes with two and three incommensurate frequencies,
multistability, chaotic intermittent attractors and a sequence of boundary and
interior crises is shown. The three largest Lyapunov exponents exhibit a linear
scaling with the Rayleigh number and are positive in the final hyperchaotic
attractor. Thus, a route to weak turbulence is found
Solar differential rotation and meridional flow: The role of a subadiabatic tachocline for the Taylor-Proudman balance
We present a simple model for the solar differential rotation and meridional
circulation based on a mean field parameterization of the Reynolds stresses
that drive the differential rotation. We include the subadiabatic part of the
tachocline and show that this, in conjunction with turbulent heat conductivity
within the convection zone and overshoot region, provides the key physics to
break the Taylor-Proudman constraint, which dictates differential rotation with
contour lines parallel to the axis of rotation in case of an isentropic
stratification. We show that differential rotation with contour lines inclined
by 10 - 30 degrees with respect to the axis of rotation is a robust result of
the model, which does not depend on the details of the Reynolds stress and the
assumed viscosity, as long as the Reynolds stress transports angular momentum
toward the equator. The meridional flow is more sensitive with respect to the
details of the assumed Reynolds stress, but a flow cell, equatorward at the
base of the convection zone and poleward in the upper half of the convection
zone, is the preferred flow pattern.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure
Edge of Chaos and Genesis of Turbulence
The edge of chaos is analyzed in a spatially extended system, modeled by the
regularized long-wave equation, prior to the transition to permanent
spatiotemporal chaos. In the presence of coexisting attractors, a chaotic
saddle is born at the basin boundary due to a smooth-fractal metamorphosis. As
a control parameter is varied, the chaotic transient evolves to well-developed
transient turbulence via a cascade of fractal-fractal metamorphoses. The edge
state responsible for the edge of chaos and the genesis of turbulence is an
unstable travelling wave in the laboratory frame, corresponding to a saddle
point lying at the basin boundary in the Fourier space
Existence, uniqueness and analyticity of space-periodic solutions to the regularised long-wave equation
We consider space-periodic evolutionary and travelling-wave solutions to the
regularised long-wave equation (RLWE) with damping and forcing. We establish
existence, uniqueness and smoothness of the evolutionary solutions for smooth
initial conditions, and global in time spatial analyticity of such solutions
for analytical initial conditions. The width of the analyticity strip decays at
most polynomially. We prove existence of travelling-wave solutions and
uniqueness of travelling waves of a sufficiently small norm. The importance of
damping is demonstrated by showing that the problem of finding travelling-wave
solutions to the undamped RLWE is not well-posed. Finally, we demonstrate the
asymptotic convergence of the power series expansion of travelling waves for a
weak forcing.Comment: 29 pp., 4 figures, 44 reference
Waves as the source of apparent twisting motions in sunspot penumbrae
The motion of dark striations across bright filaments in a sunspot penumbra
has become an important new diagnostic of convective gas flows in penumbral
filaments. The nature of these striations has, however, remained unclear. Here
we present an analysis of small scale motions in penumbral filaments in both
simulations and observations. The simulations, when viewed from above, show
fine structure with dark lanes running outwards from the dark core of the
penumbral filaments. The dark lanes either occur preferentially on one side or
alternate between both sides of the filament. We identify this fine structure
with transverse (kink) oscillations of the filament, corresponding to a
sideways swaying of the filament. These oscillations have periods in the range
of 5-7 min and propagate outward and downward along the filament. Similar
features are found in observed G-band intensity time series of penumbral
filaments in a sunspot located near disk center obtained by the Broadband
Filter Imager (BFI) on board {\it Hinode}. We also find that some filaments
show dark striations moving to both sides of the filaments. Based on the
agreement between simulations and observations we conclude that the motions of
these striations are caused by transverse oscillations of the underlying bright
filaments.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal on 8th April 201
Origin of solar torsional oscillations
Helioseismology has revealed many details of solar differential rotation and
also its time variation, known as torsional oscillations. So far there is no
generally accepted theoretical explanation for torsional oscillations, even
though a close relation to the solar activity cycle is evident. On the
theoretical side non-kinematic dynamo models (including the Lorentz force
feedback on differential rotation) have been used to explain torsional
oscillations. In this paper we use a slightly different approach by forcing
torsional oscillations in a mean field differential rotation model. Our aim is
not a fully self-consistent model but rather to point out a few general
properties of torsional oscillations and their possible origin that are
independent from a particular dynamo model. We find that the poleward
propagating high latitude branch of the torsional oscillations can be explained
as a response of the coupled differential rotation / meridional flow system to
periodic forcing in mid-latitudes, of either mechanical (Lorentz force) or
thermal nature. The speed of the poleward propagation sets constraints on the
value of the turbulent viscosity in the solar convection zone to be less than
3x10^8 m^2/s. We also show that the equatorward propagating low latitude branch
is very unlikely a consequence of mechanical forcing (Lorentz force) alone, but
rather of thermal origin due to the Taylor-Proudman theorem.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures. accepted by Astrophys.
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