Related papers: Why coronal mass ejections are necessary for the d…
Two questions about the solar magnetic field might be answered together once their connection is identified. The first is important for large scale dynamo theory: what prevents the magnetic backreaction forces from shutting down the dynamo…
We combine a convectively driven dynamo in a spherical shell with a nearly isothermal density-stratified cooling layer that mimics some aspects of a stellar corona to study the emergence and ejections of magnetic field structures. This…
We show that the presence of a steady $\ao$ dynamo in astrophysical rotators likely leads to an outflow of relative magnetic helicity and thus magnetic energy available for particle acceleration in a corona. The connection between energy…
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 extend earlier models of turbulent dynamos with an upper, nearly force-free exterior to spherical geometry, and study how flux emerges from lower layers to the upper ones without being driven by magnetic buoyancy. We also study how this…
Stellar dynamos are driven by complex couplings between rotation and turbulent convection, which drive global-scale flows and build and rebuild stellar magnetic fields. When stars like our sun are young, they rotate much more rapidly than…
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…
There is mounting evidence that the ejection of magnetic helicity from the solar surface is important for the solar dynamo. Observations suggest that in the northern hemisphere the magnetic helicity flux is negative. We propose that this…
Recent spectro-polarimetric observations of solar-type stars have shown the presence of photospheric magnetic fields with a predominant toroidal component. If the external field is assumed to be current-free it is impossible to explain…
Solar flares and coronal mass ejections are the largest energy release phenomena in the current solar system. They cause drastic enhancements of electromagnetic waves of various wavelengths and sometimes eject coronal material into the…
Magnetic buoyancy is believed to drive the transport of magnetic flux tubes from the convection zone to the surface of the Sun. The magnetic fields form twisted loop-like structures in the solar atmosphere. In this paper we use helical…
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…
We present a unified three-dimensional model of the convection zone and upper atmosphere of the Sun in spherical geometry. In this model, magnetic fields, generated by a helically forced dynamo in the convection zone, emerge without the…
Most large scale dynamo research for astrophysical rotators focuses on interior flow driven helical dynamos (FDHDs), but larger scale coronal fields most directly influence observations. It is thus important to understand the relationship…
A loss of magnetic field confinement is believed to be the cause of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), a major form of solar activity in the corona. The mechanisms for magnetic energy storage are crucial in understanding how a field may possess…
Mean field dynamo theory is a leading candidate to explain the observed large scale magnetic fields of galaxies and stars. However, controversy arises over the extent of premature quenching by the backreaction of the growing field. We…
Selected topics in solar dynamo theory are being highlighted. The possible relevance of the near-surface shear layer is discussed. The role of turbulent downward pumping is mentioned in connection with earlier concerns that a…
We present a three-dimensional model of rotating convection combined with a simplified corona in spherical coordinates. The motions in the convection zone generate a large-scale magnetic field that gets sporadically ejected into the outer…
It is argued that much of the observed magnetic helicity losses at the solar surface may represent a reduction of an otherwise more dominant nonlinearity of solar and stellar dynamos. This nonlinearity is proportional to the internal twist…
It has been suggested that coronal mass ejections (CMEs) remove the magnetic helicity of their coronal source region from the Sun. Such removal is often regarded to be necessary due to the hemispheric sign preference of the helicity, which…