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The observation of global acoustic waves (p modes) in the Sun has been key to unveiling its internal structure and dynamics. A different kind of wave, known as sectoral Rossby modes, have been observed and identified, which potentially opens the door to probing internal processes that are inaccessible through p mode helioseismology. Yet another set of waves, appearing as retrograde-propagating, equatorially antisymmetric vorticity waves, have also been observed but their identification remained elusive. Here, through a numerical model implemented as an eigenvalue problem, we provide evidence supporting the identification of those waves as a class of inertial eigenmodes, distinct from the Rossby mode class, with radial velocities comparable to the horizontal ones deep in the convective zone, but still small compared to the horizontal velocities towards the surface. We also suggest that the signature of tesseral-like Rossby modes might be present in the recent observational data., Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters

The Earth is a rapidly rotating body. The centrifugal pull makes its shape resemble a flattened ellipsoid and Coriolis forces support waves in its fluid core, known as inertial waves. These waves can lead to global oscillations, or modes, of the fluid. Periodic variations of the Earth's rotation axis (nutations) can lead to an exchange of angular momentum between the mantle and the fluid core and excite these inertial modes. In addition to viscous torques that exist regardless of the shape of the boundaries, the small flattening of the core-mantle boundary (CMB) allows inertial modes to exert pressure torques on the mantle. These torques effectively couple the rigid-body dynamics of the Earth with the fluid dynamics of the fluid core. Here we present the first high resolution numerical model that solves simultaneously the rigid body dynamics of the mantle and the Navier-Stokes equation for the liquid core. This method takes naturally into account dissipative processes in the fluid that are ignored in current nutation models. We find that the Free Core Nutation (FCN) mode, mostly a toroidal fluid flow if the mantle has a large moment of inertia, enters into resonance with nearby modes if the mantle's moment of inertia is reduced. These mode interactions seem to be completely analogous to the ones discovered by Schmitt (2006) in a uniformly rotating ellipsoid with varying flattening., Comment: 30 pages, 19 figures. Published in the Geophysical Journal International

Measurement of the differential rotation of the Sun's interior is one of the great achievements of helioseismology, providing important constraints for stellar physics. The technique relies on observing and analyzing rotationally-induced splittings of p-modes in the star. Here we demonstrate the first use of the technique in a laboratory setting. We apply it in a spherical cavity with a spinning central core (spherical-Couette flow) to determine the mean azimuthal velocity of the air filling the cavity. We excite a number of acoustic resonances (analogous to p-modes in the Sun) using a speaker and record the response with an array of small microphones on the outer sphere. Many observed acoustic modes show rotationally-induced splittings, which allow us to perform an inversion to determine the air's azimuthal velocity as a function of both radius and latitude. We validate the method by comparing the velocity field obtained through inversion against the velocity profile measured with a calibrated hot film anemometer. This 'modal acoustic velocimetry' technique has great potential for laboratory setups involving rotating fluids in axisymmetric cavities. It will be useful especially in liquid metals where direct optical methods are unsuitable and ultrasonic techniques very challenging at best., Comment: Accepted for publication on The New Journal Of Physics

Spherical Couette flow (flow between concentric rotating spheres) is one of flows under consideration for the laboratory magnetic dynamos. Recent experiments have shown that such flows may excite Coriolis restored inertial modes. The present work aims to better understand the properties of the observed modes and the nature of their excitation. Using numerical solutions describing forced inertial modes of a uniformly rotating fluid inside a spherical shell, we first identify the observed oscillations of the Couette flow with non-axisymmetric, retrograde, equatorially anti-symmetric inertial modes, confirming first attempts using a full sphere model. Although the model has no differential rotation, identification is possible because a large fraction of the fluid in a spherical Couette flow rotates rigidly. From the observed sequence of the excited modes appearing when the inner sphere is slowed down by step, we identify a critical Rossby number associated with a given mode and below which it is excited. The matching between this critical number and the one derived from the phase velocity of the numerically computed modes shows that these modes are excited by an instability likely driven by the critical layer that develops in the shear layer staying along the tangent cylinder of the inner sphere., Comment: 11 pages, 17 figures

Flow between concentric spheres of radius ratio $\eta = r_\mathrm{i}/r_\mathrm{o} = 0.35$ is studied in a 3 m outer diameter experiment. We have measured the torques required to maintain constant boundary speeds as well as localized wall shear stress, velocity, and pressure. At low Ekman number $E = 2.1\times10^{-7}$ and modest Rossby number $0.07 < Ro < 3.4$, the resulting flow is highly turbulent, with a Reynolds number ($Re=Ro/E$) exceeding fifteen million. Several turbulent flow regimes are evident as $Ro$ is varied for fixed $E$. We focus our attention on one flow transition in particular, between $Ro = 1.8$ and $Ro = 2.6$, where the flow shows bistable behavior. For $Ro$ within this range, the flow undergoes intermittent transitions between the states observed alone at adjacent $Ro$ outside the switching range. The two states are clearly distinguished in all measured flow quantities, including a striking reduction in torque demanded from the inner sphere by the state lying at higher $Ro$. The reduced angular momentum transport appears to be associated with the development of a fast zonal circulation near the experiment core. The lower torque state exhibits waves, one of which is similar to an inertial mode known for a full sphere, and another which appears to be a strongly advected Rossby-type wave. These results represent a new laboratory example of the overlapping existence of distinct flow states in high Reynolds number flow. Turbulent multiple stability and the resilience of transport barriers associated with zonal flows are important topics in geophysical and astrophysical contexts.