Enhancement of small-scale turbulent dynamo by large-scale shear

Small-scale dynamos are ubiquitous in a broad range of turbulent flows with large-scale shear, ranging from solar and galactic magnetism to accretion disks, cosmology and structure formation. Using high-resolution direct numerical simulations we show that in non-helically forced turbulence with zero mean magnetic field, large-scale shear supports small-scale dynamo action, i.e., the dynamo growth rate increases with shear and shear enhances or even produces turbulence, which, in turn, further increases the dynamo growth rate. When the production rates of turbulent kinetic energy due to shear and forcing are comparable, we find scalings for the growth rate $\gamma$ of the small-scale dynamo and the turbulent velocity $u_{\rm rms}$ with shear rate $S$ that are independent of the magnetic Prandtl number: $\gamma \propto |S|$ and $u_{\rm rms} \propto |S|^{2/3}$. For large fluid and magnetic Reynolds numbers, $\gamma$, normalized by its shear-free value, depends only on shear. Having compensated for shear-induced effects on turbulent velocity, we find that the normalized growth rate of the small-scale dynamo exhibits the scaling, $\widetilde{\gamma}\propto |S|^{2/3}$, arising solely from the induction equation for a given velocity field.Comment: Improved version submitted to the Astrophysical Journal Letters, 6 pages, 5 figure

Generation of large-scale magnetic fields due to fluctuating α\alpha in shearing systems

We explore the growth of large-scale magnetic fields in a shear flow, due to helicity fluctuations with a finite correlation time, through a study of the Kraichnan-Moffatt model of zero-mean stochastic fluctuations of the $\alpha$ parameter of dynamo theory. We derive a linear integro-differential equation for the evolution of large-scale magnetic field, using the first-order smoothing approximation and the Galilean invariance of the $\alpha$-statistics. This enables construction of a model that is non-perturbative in the shearing rate $S$ and the $\alpha$-correlation time $\tau_\alpha$. After a brief review of the salient features of the exactly solvable white-noise limit, we consider the case of small but non-zero $\tau_\alpha$. When the large-scale magnetic field varies slowly, the evolution is governed by a partial differential equation. We present modal solutions and conditions for the exponential growth rate of the large-scale magnetic field, whose drivers are the Kraichnan diffusivity, Moffatt drift, Shear and a non-zero correlation time. Of particular interest is dynamo action when the $\alpha$-fluctuations are weak; i.e. when the Kraichnan diffusivity is positive. We show that in the absence of Moffatt drift, shear does not give rise to growing solutions. But shear and Moffatt drift acting together can drive large scale dynamo action with growth rate $\gamma \propto |S|$.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, Accepted in Journal of Plasma Physic

Fanning out of the ff-mode in presence of nonuniform magnetic fields

We show that in the presence of a harmonically varying magnetic field the fundamental or $f$-mode in a stratified layer is altered in such a way that it fans out in the diagnostic $k\omega$ diagram, but with mode power also within the fan. In our simulations, the surface is defined by a temperature and density jump in a piecewise isothermal layer. Unlike our previous work (Singh et al. 2014) where a uniform magnetic field was considered, we employ here a nonuniform magnetic field together with hydromagnetic turbulence at length scales much smaller than those of the magnetic fields. The expansion of the $f$-mode is stronger for fields confined to the layer below the surface. In some of those cases, the $k\omega$ diagram also reveals a new class of low frequency vertical stripes at multiples of twice the horizontal wavenumber of the background magnetic field. We argue that the study of the $f$-mode expansion might be a new and sensitive tool to determining subsurface magnetic fields with longitudinal periodicity.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Astrophysical Journal Letter

Large eddy simulation of acoustic propagation in turbulent flow through ducts and mufflers

This research involves study of acoustic propagation of pulse in a simple expansion muffler, which is very often used in HVAC or automotive exhausts. A hybrid pressure-based compressible solver is developed and validated for a low Mach number flow simulation of acoustic pulse. This new solver is developed using C++ based OpenFOAM toolkit and further tested for low Mach number flow test case. The analysis of simple expansion muffler for various structures, frequency ranges and numerical schemes is performed and results are summarized. RANS simulation of duct and muffler with mean flow is conducted and results are presented with inherent limitations associated with the method. Further, a mixed synthetic inflow boundary condition is also developed and validated for LES of channel flow. The mixed synthetic boundary is then used for LES of a simple expansion muffler to analyse the flow-acoustic and acoustic-pulse interactions inside the expansion muffler. The improvement in the prediction of tonal noise and vortex shedding inside the chamber is highlighted in comparison to the RANS method. Further, the effect of forced pulsation on flow-acoustic is observed in regard to the shift in Strouhal number inside the simple expansion muffler. Finally, a set of benchmark results for experimental analysis of the simple expansion muffler both, with and without flow is obtained to compare attenuation in forced pulsation for various mean-flow velocities. These experimental results are then used for validation of the proposed pressure-based compressible solver

Chemically Fueled Autonomous Sol→Gel→Sol→Gel→Sol Transitions

Complex non-equilibrium phase behaviors are a hallmark of natural self-assembling systems. Here we show how intricate phase transitions can be achieved through a chemically fueled reaction cycle to yield autonomous sol→gel→sol→gel→sol transitions. A relay of chemical transformations based on thiazinane metathesis leads to two consecutive transient gelations in a closed system. Within seconds of fuel addition to deactivated thiazinane monomers, an imine-based hydrogel forms that consists of fibrillar microspheres. This gel quickly loses its mechanical strength and forms a solution, from which a second aldehyde-based gel nucleates and remains stable for over one day. Overall, our reaction cycle gives rise to two consecutive re-entrant phase transitions without any experimental intervention.N.S would like to acknowledge the support from Generalitat Valenciana (Conselleria de Innovación, Universidades, Ciencia y Sociedad Digital) for CIDEGENT PlaGenT grant no. CIDEXG/2022/16 for the project PRONESS. T.M.H. would like to acknowledge funding from ERC-2017-STG “Life-Cycle” (757910) We acknowledge the help from Cyril Antheaume at ISIS, University of Strasbourg, and Cristian Vicent Barrera and Servei Central d'Instrumentació Científica (SCIC) at Universitat Jaume I, Spain for NMR and LCMS techniques