Related papers: The Sun's meridional circulation and interior magn…
We present the first numerical simulations of the solar interior to exhibit a tachocline consistent with the Gough and McIntyre (1998) model. We find nonlinear, axisymmetric, steady-state numerical solutions in which: (1) a large-scale…
We present a detailed numerical study of the Gough & McIntyre model for the solar tachocline. This model explains the uniformity of the rotation profile observed in the bulk of the radiative zone by the presence of a large-scale primordial…
3D MHD global solar simulations coupling the turbulent convective zone and the radiative zone have been carried out. Essential features of the Sun such as differential rotation, meridional circulation and internal waves excitation are…
Gough & McIntyre have suggested that the dynamics of the solar tachocline are dominated by the advection-diffusion balance between the differential rotation, a large-scale primordial field and baroclinicly driven meridional motions. This…
We present axisymmetric simulations of the coupled convective and radiative regions in the Sun in order to investigate the angular momentum evolution of the radiative interior. Both hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic models were run. We…
The surprising thinness of the solar tachocline is still not understood with certainty today. Among the numerous possible scenarios suggested to explain its radial confinement, one hypothesis is based on Maxwell stresses that are exerted by…
Meridional circulation regulates the Sun's interior dynamics and magnetism. While it is well accepted that meridional flows are poleward at the Sun's surface, helioseismic observations have yet to provide a definitive answer for the depth…
Helioseismology has revealed the internal density and rotation profiles of the Sun. Yet, knowledge of its magnetic fields and meridional circulation is confined much closer to the surface, and latitudinal entropy gradients are below…
For more than thirty years, the dynamical maintenance of the thin solar tachocline has remained one of the central outstanding problems of stellar astrophysics. Three main theories have been developed to explain the tachocline's thinness,…
We present a local but fully nonlinear model of the solar tachocline, using three-dimensional direct numerical simulations. The tachocline forms naturally as a statistically steady balance between Coriolis, pressure, buoyancy and Lorentz…
The reason for the observed thinness of the solar tachocline is still not well understood. One of the explanations that have been proposed is that a primordial magnetic field renders the rotation uniform in the radiation zone. We test here…
High-latitude laminar confinement of the Sun's interior magnetic field is shown to be possible, as originally proposed by Gough and McIntyre (1998) but contrary to a recent claim by Brun and Zahn (A&A 2006). Mean downwelling as weak as…
The simplest interior magnetic field B_i that can explain the observed uniform rotation of the Sun's radiative envelope is an axial dipole stabilized by a deep toroidal field. It can explain the uniform rotation only if confined in the…
We show that the MHD theory that explains the solar tachocline by an effect of the magnetic field can work with the decay modes of a fossil field in the solar interior if the meridional flow of the convection zone penetrates slightly the…
Using even-order frequency splitting coefficients of global p-modes it is possible to infer the magnetic field in the solar interior as a function of radial distance and latitude. Results obtained using GONG and MDI data are discussed.…
We study the physics of the solar tachocline and related MHD instabilities. We have performed 3-D MHD simulations of the solar radiative interior to check whether a fossil magnetic field is able to prevent the spread of the tachocline.…
The global-scale interior magnetic field needed to account for the Sun's observed differential rotation can be effective only if confined below the convection zone in all latitudes, including the polar caps. Axisymmetric nonlinear MHD…
A major outstanding problem in solar physics is the confinement of the solar tachocline, the thin shear layer that separates nearly solid-body rotation in the radiative interior from strong differential rotation in the convection zone.…
The solar interior is filled with turbulent thermal convection, which plays a key role in the energy and momentum transport and the generation of the magnetic field. The turbulent flows in the solar interior cannot be optically detected due…
We review recent insights into the dynamics of the solar convection zone obtained from global numerical simulations, focusing on two recent developments in particular. The first is quasi-cyclic magnetic activity in a long-duration dynamo…