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Abstract: Campanelli et al. (2009) have recently shown that electromagnetic fluctuations in Lorentz violation theories Colladay and Kostelecky (1998) along differential rotation may induce galactic dynamo amplification of magnetic fields from primordial seeds. In this Letter, instead of using the Maxwell–Chern–Simmons–Lagrangian used in their paper, one adopts the Lagrangean of the type , where represent the torsion modes, without dynamical curvature. This so-called Minkowski–Cartan spacetime torsion modes, allows us to handle QED vacuum in any Ricci scalar electrodynamics Lagrangean. It is shown that axial-torsion modes electrodynamics allows us to obtain a slow decay of magnetic fields. Thus primordial seed fields are amplified from differential rotation and protogalaxy turbulence as galactic dynamo action. This is mainly due to the fact that the collapse of the protogalaxy induces a strong suppression of the magnetic field decay. Magnetic field anisotropies are also considered. To resume, photon-torsion axial coupling in the quantum electrodynamics (QED) framework in Riemann flat contortioned spacetime may induce galactic dynamos. Fourier space transformation are used to compute electrodynamic equations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two systems of Lorenz-type equations modelling solar magnetic activity are studied: Firstly a low order dynamic system in which the toroidal and poloidal fields are represented by x- and y-coordinates respectively, and the hydrodynamical information is given by the z coordinate. Secondly a complex generalization of the three ordinary differential equations studied by Lorenz. By studying the Poincaré map we give numerical evidence that the flow has an attractor with fractal structure. The period is defined as the time needed for a point on a hyperplane to return to the hyperplane again. The periods are distributed in an interval. For large values of the Dynamo number there is a long tail toward long periods and other interesting comet-like features. These general relations found for periods can further be physically interpreted with improved helioseismic estimates of the parameters used by the dynamical systems. Solar Dynamic Observatory is expected to offer such improved measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than half a century ago, Bullard suggested that the Earth's dynamo might be driven by the motions created in the Earth's core by the luni-solar precession. The precessionally forced motion of the mantle drives core flow through viscous forces and also, because of the electrical conductivity of the deep mantle, through magnetic forces. Both these couplings are thought to be insignificant in comparison with the topographical coupling created by the oblateness of the core-mantle interface. Because of technical difficulties in studying dynamo action in non-spherical bodies of electrically conducting fluid, this is the first serious attempt to study dynamo action by topographically forced flows. It describes the novel numerical methods that were employed, the tests that were devised to validate these methods, and the successful outcome of those tests. Some preliminary results for these dynamos are presented. It is shown that, in some parameter ranges, the magnetic field produced by the dynamos enhances the vigor of the precessional motions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solutions of the induction equation with a purely toroidal magnetic field in a spherical conductor are of special interest since they disclose the possibility of a dynamo operating in a celestial body which remains invisible to an external observer. A necessary condition for such solutions to exist are flow fields and conductivity distributions constrained in such a way that no poloidal field can arise. Otherwise these quantities are assumed to be arbitrary; we allow, in particular, non-radial conductivity variations in order to facilitate dynamo action. This article presents evidence that such solutions do not exist: based on a solution of the constraint a nonlinear evolution equation for the toroidal scalar T is derived. It is proved that sufficiently regular solutions of this equation cannot increase (in time) in the norm [image omitted], where R is the radius of the spherical conductor. Steady solutions are likewise excluded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental results are reported on the magnetohydrodynamic interaction between oscillating flows in adjoining channels of the Karlsruhe dynamo test facility. In the experiment, designed to simulate the Roberts–Busse kinematic dynamo model, a time periodic perturbation has been imposed on the axial channel flows, while the flow rates in the other two helical channel systems were supplied at constant power level. It has been observed that the onset of dynamo action is shifted slightly to lower mean flow rates. A temporal analysis shows distinct correlations between the evolving magnetic field and the different kinds of forced flows in the channels. From the beginning the environmental magnetic field adjusts to fluctuations of the axial channel flow. The fluctuations of the magnetic field increase owing to dynamo action in a transition range and induce quasiperiodic fluctuations on the flow in the helical channels by acting Lorentz forces. In the high supercritical range the fluctuations are dampened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a one-dimensional -dynamo model appropriate to galaxies, we study the possibility of dynamo action driven by a stochastic α-effect and shear. To determine the field evolution, one needs to examine a large number of different realizations of the stochastic component of α. The net growth or decay of the field depends not only on the dynamo parameters but also on the particular realization, the correlation time of the stochastic α compared to turbulent diffusion time-scale and the time over which the system is evolved. For dynamos where both a coherent and fluctuating α are present, the stochasticity of α can help alleviate catastrophic dynamo quenching, even in the absence of helicity fluxes. One can obtain final field strengths up to a fraction ∼0.01 of the equipartition field for dynamo numbers , while fields comparable to require much larger degree of α-fluctuations or shear. This type of dynamo may be particularly useful for amplifying fields in the central regions of disc galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using direct simulations, weakly non-linear theory and non-linear mean-field theory, it is shown that the quenched velocity field of a saturated non-linear dynamo can itself act as a kinematic dynamo. The flow is driven by a forcing function that would produce a Roberts flow in the absence of a magnetic field. This result confirms an analogous finding by Cattaneo & Tobias for the more complicated case of turbulent convection, suggesting that this may be a common property of non-linear dynamos; see also the talk given online at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics ( ). It is argued that this property can be used to test non-linear mean-field dynamo theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turbulent fluctuations in the velocity and magnetic fields of electrically conducting fluids have been experimentally shown to be capable of inducing large-scale magnetic fields. Here, simulations of the Madison Dynamo Experiment are used to qualitatively reproduce these experimental results. Due to the high magnetic Prandtl number of the simulations, Pm=0.08 vs Pm∼10-5 for liquid sodium, the simulations do not identically reproduce the fluctuation levels of the experiment’s magnetic and velocity fields. Nonetheless, the simulations reproduce the qualitative behavior of the fluctuation-induced large-scale magnetic field as a function of applied field magnitude and magnetic Reynolds number. The scaling of the induced dipole moment as a function of Reynolds number is also presented, demonstrating that the nature of the fluctuations in the simulations changes after a critical value of the Reynolds number is crossed, resulting in a change in the direction of the induced dipole moment. Experimental conditions using corotating impellers are presented, demonstrating that the induced dipole moment may be dependent on the shear layer present in the counter-rotating case. Measurements of velocity field fluctuations are examined to determine the possibility of an inhomogeneous turbulent resistivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of laminar flows with simple streamlines in conducting fluids that might support kinematic dynamo action has a long history. Early successful examples include the Gailitis (1970) dynamo, which has two meridional rolls. We show here that a single meridional roll, considered as a limit of a modified Gailitis-like dynamo, can also support kinematic dynamo action in a deep spherical shell. This flow has a claim to be the simplest such flow possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using numerical simulations at moderate magnetic Reynolds numbers up to 220, it is shown that in the kinematic regime, isotropic helical turbulence leads to an α-effect and a turbulent diffusivity whose values are independent of the magnetic Reynolds number, Rm, provided Rm exceeds unity. These turbulent coefficients are also consistent with expectations from the first-order smoothing approximation. For small values of Rm, α and turbulent diffusivity are proportional to Rm. Over finite time-intervals, meaningful values of α and turbulent diffusivity can be obtained even when there is small-scale dynamo action that produces strong magnetic fluctuations. This suggests that the fields generated by the small-scale dynamo do not make a correlated contribution to the mean electromotive force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a simple semi-analytical model of non-linear, 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 non-linear system of ordinary differential equations in time; we demonstrate that the model reproduces accurately earlier results, including those where non-linear behaviour is driven by a magnetic helicity flux. We discuss the implications and interplay of two types of magnetic helicity flux, one produced by advection (e.g. due to the galactic fountain or wind) and the other, arising from anisotropy of turbulence as suggested by Vishniac & Cho. We argue that the latter is significant if the galactic differential rotation is strong enough: in our model, for in terms of the corresponding turbulent magnetic Reynolds number. We confirm that the intensity of gas outflow from the galactic disc optimal for the dynamo action is close to that expected for normal spiral galaxies. The steady-state strength of the large-scale magnetic field supported by the helicity advection is still weaker than that corresponding to equipartition with the turbulent energy. However, the Vishniac–Cho helicity flux can boost magnetic field further to achieve energy equipartition with turbulence. For stronger outflows that may occur in starburst galaxies, the Vishniac–Cho flux can be essential for the dynamo action. However, this mechanism requires a large-scale magnetic field of at least to be launched, so that it has to be preceded by a conventional dynamo assisted by the advection of magnetic helicity by the fountain or wind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We discuss the current status of solar dynamo theory and describe the dynamo model developed by our group. The toroidal magnetic field is generated in the tachocline by the strong differential rotation and rises to the solar surface due to magnetic buoyancy to create active regions. The decay of these active regions at the surface gives rise to the poloidal magnetic field by the Babcock-Leighton mechanism. This poloidal field is advected by the meridional circulation first to high latitudes and then down below to the tachocline. Dynamo models based on these ideas match different aspects of observational data reasonably well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Archontis dynamo was the first stationary dynamo discovered which saturates with almost equal magnetic and kinetic energies in the limit of large Reynolds numbers. In this paper we present two further examples, one based on a series of numerical calculations and the other on the analytic rotor dynamos of Herzenberg. The forcing and flow in these new examples lack some of the symmetries of the Archontis dynamo are therefore more generic. The saturation mechanism is thus not a unique property of the Archontis dynamo. For the numerical solutions, we also have investigated the structure and stability of the flow and field near the stagnation points and those streamlines which enter and leave them. These structures play an important part in the operation of the dynamo mechanism, and the way they interact with one another is mirrored in the analytic example based on the Herzenberg rotors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several decades since the work E. P. Velikhov, Zh. Éksp. Teor. Fiz. 36,1398 (1959) [Sov. Phys. JETP 9,995 (1959)] [1] concerning magnetorotational instability was published, great astrophysical interest has been manifested in the mechanism of generating a magnetic field in a rotating well-conducting medium in view of difficulties in the development of the theory of anomalous matter transfer in accretion discs both upon the formation of stars and planets from gaseous conglomerations and upon the formation of a galactic core with a black hole at the center {S. A. Balbus and J. F. Hawley, Astrophys. J. 376,214 (1991) [2] and G. Ruediger and R. Hollerbach, TheMagneticUniverse (Wiley–VCH, Weinheim, 2004) [3]}. Attempts to experimentally observe the magnetorotational instability were successful only for spherical geometry in experiments initially devoted to the verification of geomagnetic dynamo theory {D. R. Sisan etal., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93,114502 (2004) [4]}. In experiments with liquid sodium in the complete absence of temperature gradients and, therefore, convection, which is very important for the conventional theory of the geomagnetic dynamo, the generation of the magnetic field was obtained due to the development of the magnetorotational instability, which is usually ignored when developing the theory of the origin of the Earth’s magnetic field. The results obtained in this work enable one to develop a theory of geomagnetic dynamo that is primarily based on the magnetorotational instability, which provides a new insight into not only the origin of the Earth’s magnetic field but its evolution in time. © 2005 Pleiades Publishing, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: 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 flows that can amplify a weak ‘seed’ magnetic field exponentially fast. Particular emphasis is placed on the nonlinear saturation of the dynamo. Analytic and numerical results are discussed both for small scale dynamos, which are completely isotropic, and for large scale dynamos, where some form of parity breaking is crucial. Central to the discussion of large scale dynamos is the so-called alpha effect which explains the generation of a mean field if the turbulence lacks mirror symmetry, i.e. if the flow has kinetic helicity. Large scale dynamos produce small scale helical fields as a waste product that quench the large scale dynamo and hence the alpha effect. With this in mind, the microscopic theory of the alpha effect is revisited in full detail and recent results for the loss of helical magnetic fields are reviewed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The growth of magnetic field is considered in the stretch–fold–shear map in the limit of weak diffusion. Numerical results are given for insulating, perfectly conducting and periodic boundary conditions. The resulting eigenvalue branches and magnetic fields are related to eigenvalue branches for perfect dynamo action, obtained for zero diffusion using a complex variable formulation. The effect of diffusion on these perfect dynamo modes depends on their structure, growth rate and the diffusive boundary conditions employed. In some cases, the effect of diffusion is a small perturbation, giving a correction going to zero in the limit of weak diffusion, with a scaling exponent given analytically. In other cases weak diffusion can entirely destroy a perfect dynamo branch. Diffusive boundary layers can also generate entirely new branches. These different cases are elucidated, and within the framework of the asymptotic approximations used (which do not constitute a rigorous proof), it is seen that for all three boundary conditions employed, the stretch–fold–shear map is a fast dynamo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]