Related papers: The case for a distributed solar dynamo shaped by …
Context: Observations indicate that the `quiet' solar photosphere outside active regions contains considerable amounts of magnetic energy and magnetic flux, with mixed polarity on small scales. The origin of this flux is unclear. Aims: We…
Theoretical models for the solar dynamo range from simple low-dimensional ``toy models'' to complex 3D-MHD simulations. Here we mainly discuss appproaches that are motivated and guided by solar (and stellar) observations. We give a brief…
In 1969 Leighton developed a quasi-1D mathematical model of the solar dynamo, building upon the phenomenological scenario of Babcock(1961). Here we present a modification and extension of Leighton's model. Using the axisymmetric component…
The tachocline is believed to be the region where the solar dynamo operates. With over a solar cycle's worth of data available from the MDI and GONG instruments, we are in a position to investigate not merely the average structure of the…
Rotational shear layers at the boundary between radiative and convective zones, tachoclines, play a key role in the process of magnetic field generation in solar-like stars. We present two sets of global simulations of rotating turbulent…
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…
Helioseismic inversions of the Sun's internal angular velocity profile show that the rotation changes from differential in latitude in the convection zone to almost uniform in the radiative region below. The transition occurs in a thin…
In solar-type stars (with radiative cores and convective envelopes), the magnetic field powers star spots, flares and other solar phenomena, as well as chromospheric and coronal emission at ultraviolet to X-ray wavelengths. The dynamo…
We investigate the relations between tachocline-based dynamos and the surface flux transport mechanisms in stars with outer convection zones. Using our combined models of flux generation and transport, we demonstrate the importance of the…
Parker's analytic Cartesian interface dynamo is generalized to the case of a shear layer of finite thickness and low resistivity ("tachocline"), bounded by a perfect conductor ("radiative zone") on the one side, and by a highly diffusive…
Spherical solar dynamo simulations are performed. Self-consistent, fully compressible magnetohydrodynamic system with a stably stratified layer below the convective envelope is numerically solved with a newly developed simulation code based…
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…
The dynamo mechanism, responsible for the solar magnetic activity, is still an open problem in astrophysics. Different theories proposed to explain such phenomena have failed in reproducing the observational properties of the solar…
Helioseismology shows that the regions occupied by convection and differential rotation inside the sun almost coincide. This supports the leading theoretical concept for the origin of differential rotation as a result of interaction between…
Helioseismology has revealed an increase in the rotation rate with depth in a thin ($\sim$30 Mm) near-surface layer. The normalized rotational shear in this layer is independent of latitude. This rotational state is shown to be a…
Recently helioseismic observations have revealed the presence of a shear layer at the base of the convective zone related to the transition from differential rotation in the convection zone to almost uniform rotation in the radiative…
We characterize and analyze rotational torsional oscillations developing in a large-eddy magnetohydrodynamical simulation of solar convection (Ghizaru, Charbonneau, and Smolarkiewicz, Astrophys. J. Lett., 715, L133 (2010); Racine et al.,…
The motivation for considering distributed large scale dynamos in the solar context is reviewed in connection with the magnetic helicity constraint. Preliminary accounts of 3-dimensional direct numerical simulations (in spherical shell…
We review recent advances in modeling global-scale convection and dynamo processes with the Anelastic Spherical Harmonic (ASH) code. In particular, we have recently achieved the first global-scale solar convection simulations that exhibit…
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…