Related papers: Convective Babcock-Leighton Dynamo Models
We amend Babcock's original scenario for the global dynamo process that sustains the Sun's 22-year magnetic cycle. The amended scenario fits post-Babcock observed features of the magnetic activity cycle and convection zone, and is based on…
The meridional circulation of the Sun, which is observed to be poleward at the surface, should have a return flow at some depth. Since large-scale flows like the differential rotation and the meridional circulation are driven by turbulent…
In this thesis, various studies are performed leading to better understanding of the 11-year solar cycle and its theoretical modeling with the flux transport dynamo model. Although this is primarily a theoretical thesis, there is a part…
The solar cycle is generated by a magnetohydrodynamic dynamo mechanism which involves the induction and recycling of the toroidal and poloidal components of the Sun's magnetic field. Recent observations indicate that the Babcock-Leighton…
The Sun and solar-type stars exhibit irregular cyclic variations in their magnetic activity over long time scales. To understand this irregularity, we employed the flux transport dynamo models to investigate the behavior of one solar mass…
Surface observations indicate that the speed of the solar meridional circulation in the photosphere varies in anti-phase with the solar cycle. The current explanation for the source of this variation is that inflows into active regions…
Simple models of magnetic field generation by convection in rotating spherical shells exhibit properties resembling those observed on the sun. The {assumption of the Boussinesq approximation made in these models} prevents a realistic…
A brief summary of the various observations and constraints that underlie solar dynamo research are presented. The arguments that indicate that the solar dynamo is an alpha-omega dynamo of the Babcock-Leighton type are then shortly…
The most widely accepted model of the solar cycle is the flux transport dynamo model. This model evolved out of the traditional $\alpha \Omega$ dynamo model which was first developed at a time when the existence of the Sun's meridional…
We begin with a review of the predictions for cycle~24 before its onset. After summarizing the basics of the flux transport dynamo model, we discuss how this model had been used to make a successful prediction of cycle~24, on the assumption…
The operation of the solar global dynamo appears to involve many dynamical elements. Self-consistent MHD simulations which realistically incorporate all of these processes are not yet computationally feasible, though some elements can now…
Young solar-type stars rotate rapidly and many are magnetically active; some undergo magnetic cycles similar to the 22-year solar activity cycle. We conduct simulations of dynamo action in rapidly rotating suns with the 3D MHD anelastic…
The contribution of the Babcock-Leighton mechanism to the generation of the Sun's poloidal magnetic field is estimated from sunspot data for three solar cycles. Comparison of the derived quantities with the A-index of the large-scale…
The sunspot cycle is the magnetic cycle of the Sun produced by the dynamo process. A central idea of the solar dynamo is that the toroidal and the poloidal magnetic fields of the Sun sustain each other. We discuss the relevant observational…
Fluctuations in the Sun's magnetic activity, including episodes of grand minima such as the Maunder minimum have important consequences for space and planetary environments. However, the underlying dynamics of such extreme fluctuations…
We want to study the connections between the magnetic field generated inside the Sun and the solar wind impacting Earth, especially the influence of north-south asymmetry on the magnetic and velocity fields. We study a solar-like 11-year…
Magnetohydrodynamic star-in-a-box simulations of convection and dynamos in a solar-like star with different rotation rates are presented. These simulations produce solar-like differential rotation with a fast equator and slow poles, and…
We live near a magnetic star whose cycles of activity are driven by dynamo action beneath the surface. In the solar convection zone, rotation couples with plasma motions to build highly organized magnetic fields that erupt at the surface…
The prediction of the strength of future solar cycles is of interest because of its practical significance for space weather and as a test of our theoretical understanding of the solar cycle. The Babcock-Leighton mechanism allows…
The sunspot number data during the past 400 years indicates that both the profile and the amplitude of the solar cycle have large variations. Some precursors of the solar cycle were identified aiming to predict the solar cycle. The polar…