Related papers: How magnetic helicity ejection helps large scale d…
We construct a magnetic helicity conserving dynamo theory which incorporates a calculated magnetic helicity current. In this model the fluid helicity plays a small role in large scale magnetic field generation. Instead, the dynamo process…
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 standard theory of the solar cycle in terms of an alpha-Omega dynamo hinges on a proper understanding of the nonlinear alpha effect. Boundary conditions play a surprisingly important role in determining the magnitude of alpha. For…
We show that in decaying hydromagnetic turbulence with initial kinetic helicity, a weak magnetic field eventually becomes fully helical. The sign of magnetic helicity is opposite to that of the kinetic helicity - regardless of whether or…
Large scale dynamo-generated fields are a combination of interlocked poloidal and toroidal fields. Such fields possess magnetic helicity that needs to be regenerated and destroyed during each cycle. A number of numerical experiments now…
Three closely related stumbling blocks of solar mean field dynamo theory are discussed: how dominant are the small scale fields, how is the alpha effect quenched, and whether magnetic and current helicity fluxes alleviate the quenching? It…
The Sun's magnetic dynamo cycle features a distinct pattern: a propagating region of sunspot emergence appears around 30 degrees latitude and vanishes near the equator every 11 years. Moreover, longitudinal flows called "torsional…
We study the effect of turbulent drift of a large-scale magnetic field that results from the interaction of helical convective motions and differential rotation in the solar convection zone. The principal direction of the drift corresponds…
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…
We develop a two-scale formalism to determine global magnetic helicity spectra in systems where the local magnetic helicity has opposite signs on both sides of the equator, giving rise to cancelation with conventional methods. We verify…
We explore the impact of magnetic helicity conservation on the mean-field solar dynamo using the axisymmetric dynamo model which includes the subsurface shear. Our results support the recent findings by Hubbard & Brandenburg (2012), who…
The effect of shear on the growth of large scale magnetic fields in helical turbulence is investigated. The resulting large-scale magnetic field is also helical and continues to evolve, after saturation of the small scale field, on a slow…
Understanding the in situ amplification of large scale magnetic fields in turbulent astrophysical rotators has been a core subject of dynamo theory. When turbulent velocities are helical, large scale dynamos that substantially amplify…
Solar magnetic fields comprise an 11-year activity cycle, represented by the number of sunspots. The maintenance of such a solar magnetic field can be attributed to fluid motion in the convection zone, i.e. a dynamo. This study conducts the…
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.…
Magnetic field generation on scales large compared with the scale of the turbulent eddies is known to be possible via the so-called $\alpha$ effect when the turbulence is helical and if the domain is large enough for the $\alpha$ effect to…
We demonstrate that the inclusion of the helicity flux in the magnetic helicity balance in the nonlinear stage of galactic dynamo action results in a radical change in the magnetic field dynamics. The equilibrium value of the large-scale…
Natural dynamos such as planets and stars generate global scale magnetic field despite the inferred presence of small scale turbulence. Such systems are known as large scale dynamos and are typically driven by convection and influenced by…
Previously unobservable mirror asymmetry of the solar magnetic field -- a key ingredient of the dynamo mechanism which is believed to drive the 11-year activity cycle -- has now been measured. This was achieved through systematic monitoring…
We derive horizontal fluid motions on the solar surface over large areas covering the quiet-Sun magnetic network from local correlation tracking of convective granules imaged in continuum intensity and Doppler velocity by the Helioseismic…