Related papers: Galactic and Accretion Disk Dynamos
Strongly magnetized accretion discs around black holes have attractive features that may explain enigmatic aspects of X-ray binary behaviour. The structure and evolution of these discs are governed by a dynamo-like mechanism, which channels…
We perform numerical simulations of magneto-rotational instability in a local patch of accretion disk in which radiation pressure exceeds gas pressure. Such conditions may occur in the central regions of disks surrounding compact objects in…
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…
We discuss the possibility that astrophysical accretion disks are dynamically unstable to non-axisymmetric disturbances with characteristic scales much smaller than the vertical scale height. The instability is studied using three methods:…
The role of magnetic helicity in astrophysical large-scale dynamos is reviewed and compared with cases where there is no energy supply and an initial magnetic field can only decay. In both cases magnetic energy tends to get redistributed to…
In their early stages, protoplanetary discs are sufficiently massive to undergo gravitational instability (GI). This instability is thought to be involved in mass accretion, planet formation via gas fragmentation, the generation of spiral…
Radio continuum observations allow to reveal the magnetic field structure in the disk and halo of nearby spiral galaxies, their magnetic field strength and vertical scale heights. The spiral galaxies studied so far show a similar magnetic…
Recent advances in mean-field theory are reviewed and applications to the Sun, late-type stars, accretion disks, galaxies, and the early Universe are discussed. We focus particularly on aspects of spatio-temporal nonlocality, which is one…
We demonstrate a significant difference in the angular momentum transport properties of galactic disks between regions in which the interstellar medium is single phase or two phase. Our study is motivated by observations of HI in extended…
It is shown, that the saturated $\alpha$-effect taken from the nonlinear dynamo equations for the thin disk can still produce exponentially growing magnetic field in the case, when this field does not feed back on the $\alpha$. For negative…
A convenient representation of the structure of the large-scale galactic magnetic field is required for the interpretation of polarization data in the sub-mm and radio ranges, in both the Milky Way and external galaxies. We develop a simple…
Observationally, magnetic fields reach equipartition with thermal energy and cosmic rays in the interstellar medium of disk galaxies such as the Milky Way. However, thus far cosmological simulations of the formation and evolution of…
A model of a galactic disk is presented which extends the homogeneous one zone models by incorporating propagation of material and energy in the disk. For reasonable values of the parameters the homogeneous steady state is unstable to the…
Observations show that radial metallicity gradients in disk galaxies are relatively shallow, if not flat, especially at large galactocentric distances and for galaxies in the high-redshift universe. Given that star formation and metal…
We argue that pitch angles of the azimuthally averaged large-scale or mean magnetic fields in nearby spiral galaxies inferred from observations can tentatively be explained with simple galactic dynamo models. Agreement is not perfect, but…
The degree of intermittency of the magnetic field of a large-scale dynamo is considered. Based on simulations it is argued that there is a tendency for the field to become more diffuse and non-intermittent as the dynamo saturates. The…
The evolution of three-dimensional, large-scale, magnetic fields, in a galactic disk is investigated numerically. The N-body simulations of galactic dynamics are incorporated into the kinematic calculations of induction equations to study…
The metal-poor gas continuously accreting onto the discs of spiral galaxies is unlikely to arrive from the intergalactic medium (IGM) with exactly the same rotation velocity as the galaxy itself and even a small angular momentum mismatch…
The radial density profiles of stellar galaxy discs can be well approximated as an exponential. Compared to this canonical form, however, the profiles in the majority of disc galaxies show downward or upward breaks at large radii.…
A non-linear, time-dependent, magnetically driven dynamo theory which shows how magnetically dominated configurations can relax to become helical on the largest scale available is presented. Coupled time-dependent differential equations for…