Magnetic Field Saturation in the Riga Dynamo Experiment

After the dynamo experiment in November 1999 had shown magnetic field self-excitation in a spiraling liquid metal flow, in a second series of experiments emphasis was placed on the magnetic field saturation regime as the next principal step in the dynamo process. The dependence of the strength of the magnetic field on the rotation rate is studied. Various features of the saturated magnetic field are outlined and possible saturation mechanisms are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 8 figure

Detection of a flow induced magnetic field eigenmode in the Riga dynamo facility

In an experiment at the Riga sodium dynamo facility, a slowly growing magnetic field eigenmode has been detected over a period of about 15 seconds. For a slightly decreased propeller rotation rate, additional measurements showed a slow decay of this mode. The measured results correspond satisfactory with numerical predictions for the growth rates and frequencies