Related papers: Magnetic Helicity Conservation and Astrophysical D…
Many astrophysical bodies harbor magnetic fields that are thought to be sustained by a dynamo process. However, it has been argued that the production of large-scale magnetic fields by mean-field dynamo action is strongly suppressed at…
Some common properties of helical magnetic fields in decaying and driven turbulence are discussed. These include mainly the inverse cascade that produces fields on progressively larger scales. Magnetic helicity also restricts the evolution…
Astrophysical objects with negligible resistivity are often threaded by large scale magnetic fields. The generation of these fields is somewhat mysterious, since a magnetic field in a perfectly conducting fluid cannot change the flux…
The evolution of magnetic fields is studied using simulations of forced helical turbulence with strong imposed shear. After some initial exponential growth, the magnetic field develops a large scale travelling wave pattern. The resulting…
In turbulent dynamos the production of large-scale magnetic fields is accompanied by a separation of magnetic helicity in scale. The large- and small-scale parts increase in magnitude. The small-scale part can eventually work against the…
We present the results of simulations of forced turbulence in a slab where the mean kinetic helicity has a maximum near the mid-plane, generating gradients of magnetic helicity of both large and small-scale fields. We also study systems…
We analyze direct numerical simulations of large-scale dynamos in inhomogeneous nonhelically driven rotating turbulence with and without shear. The forcing is modulated so that the turbulent intensity peaks in the middle of the…
Dynamical studies of MHD turbulence on the one hand, and arguments based upon magnetic helicity on the other, have yielded seemingly contradictory estimates for the $\alpha$ parameter in turbulent dynamo theory. Here we show, with direct…
The connection between helically isotropic MHD turbulence and mean-field dynamo theory is reviewed. The nonlinearity in the mean-field theory is not yet well established, but detailed comparison with simulations begin to help select viable…
The theory of large scale dynamos is reviewed with particular emphasis on the magnetic helicity constraint in the presence of closed and open boundaries. In the presence of closed or periodic boundaries, helical dynamos respond to the…
Magnetic helicity effects are discussed in laboratory and astrophysical settings. First, dynamo action in Taylor-Green flows is discussed for different boundary conditions. However, because of the lack of scale separation with respect to…
Combined action of helical motions of plasma (the $\alpha$ effect) and non-uniform (differential) rotation is a key dynamo mechanism of solar and galactic large-scale magnetic fields. Dynamics of magnetic helicity of small-scale fields is a…
Dynamo action owing to helically forced turbulence and large-scale shear is studied using direct numerical simulations. The resulting magnetic field displays propagating wave-like behavior. This behavior can be modelled in terms of an…
The current understanding of astrophysical magnetic fields is reviewed, focusing on their generation and maintenance by turbulence. In the astrophysical context this generation is usually explained by a self-excited dynamo, which involves…
Magnetic helicity fluxes in turbulently driven alpha^2 dynamos are studied to demonstrate their ability to alleviate catastrophic quenching. A one-dimensional mean-field formalism is used to achieve magnetic Reynolds numbers of the order of…
We present a simple semi-analytical model of nonlinear, mean-field galactic dynamos and use it to study the effects of various magnetic helicity fluxes. The dynamo equations are reduced using the `no-$z$' approximation to a nonlinear system…
In numerical studies of turbulence, hyperviscosity is often used as a tool to extend the inertial subrange and to reduce the dissipative subrange. By analogy, hyperdiffusivity (or hyperresistivity) is sometimes used in magnetohydrodynamics.…
Recent analytical and computational advances in the theory of large-scale dynamos are reviewed. The importance of the magnetic helicity constraint is apparent even without invoking mean-field theory. The tau approximation yields expressions…
Much work on turbulent three-dimensional dynamos has been done using triply periodic domains, in which there are no magnetic helicity fluxes. Here we present simulations where the turbulent intensity is still nearly homogeneous, but now…
Understanding large scale magnetic field growth in turbulent plasmas in the magnetohydrodynamic limit is a goal of magnetic dynamo theory. In particular, assessing how well large scale helical field growth and saturation in simulations…