| 1. |
- Andrievsky, Alexander, et al.
(författare)
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Negative magnetic eddy diffusivities from the test-field method and multiscale stability theory
- 2015
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : Institute of Physics (IOP). - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 811:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The generation of a large-scale magnetic field in the kinematic regime in the absence of an alpha-effect is investigated by following two different approaches: the test-field method and the multiscale stability theory relying on the homogenization technique. Our computations of the magnetic eddy diffusivity tensor of the parity-invariant flow IV of G. O. Roberts and the modified Taylor-Green flow confirm the findings of previous studies. and also explain some of their apparent contradictions. The two flows have large symmetry groups; this is used to considerably simplify the eddy diffusivity tensor. Finally, a new analytic result is presented: upon expressing the eddy diffusivity tensor in terms of solutions to auxiliary problems for the adjoint operator, we derive relations between the magnetic eddy diffusivity tensors that arise for mutually reverse small-scale flows v(x) and - v(x).
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| 2. |
- Bhat, Pallavi, et al.
(författare)
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A unified large/small-scale dynamo in helical turbulence
- 2016
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 461:1, s. 240-247
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We use high resolution direct numerical simulations (DNS) to show that helical turbulence can generate significant large-scale fields even in the presence of strong small-scale dynamo action. During the kinematic stage, the unified large/ small-scale dynamo grows fields with a shapeinvariant eigenfunction, with most power peaked at small scales or large k, as in Subramanian & Brandenburg. Nevertheless, the large-scale field can be clearly detected as an excess power at small k in the negatively polarized component of the energy spectrum for a forcing with positively polarized waves. Its strength (B) over bar, relative to the total rms field Brms, decreases with increasing magnetic Reynolds number, Re-M. However, as the Lorentz force becomes important, the field generated by the unified dynamo orders itself by saturating on successively larger scales. The magnetic integral scale for the positively polarized waves, characterizing the smallscale field, increases significantly from the kinematic stage to saturation. This implies that the small-scale field becomes as coherent as possible for a given forcing scale, which averts the Re-M-dependent quenching of (B) over bar /B-rms. These results are obtained for 1024(3) DNS with magnetic Prandtl numbers of PrM = 0.1 and 10. For PrM = 0.1, B/ Brms grows from about 0.04 to about 0.4 at saturation, aided in the final stages by helicity dissipation. For Pr-M = 10, (B) over bar /B-rms grows from much less than 0.01 to values of the order the 0.2. Our results confirm that there is a unified large/ small-scale dynamo in helical turbulence.
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| 3. |
- Bhat, Pallavi, et al.
(författare)
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Hydraulic effects in a radiative atmosphere with ionization
- 2016
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 587
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. In his 1978 paper, Eugene Parker postulated the need for hydraulic downward motion to explain magnetic flux concentrations at the solar surface. A similar process has also recently been seen in simplified (e.g., isothermal) models of flux concentrations from the negative effective magnetic pressure instability (NEMPI). Aims. We study the effects of partial ionization near the radiative surface on the formation of these magnetic flux concentrations. Methods. We first obtain one-dimensional (1D) equilibrium solutions using either a Kramers-like opacity or the H-opacity. The resulting atmospheres are then used as initial conditions in two-dimensional (2D) models where flows are driven by an imposed gradient force that resembles a localized negative pressure in the form of a blob. To isolate the effects of partial ionization and radiation, we ignore turbulence and convection. Results. Because of partial ionization, an unstable stratification always forms near the surface. We show that the extrema in the specific entropy profiles correspond to the extrema in the degree of ionization. In the 2D models without partial ionization, strong flux concentrations form just above the height where the blob is placed. Interestingly, in models with partial ionization, such flux concentrations always form at the surface well above the blob. This is due to the corresponding negative gradient in specific entropy. Owing to the absence of turbulence, the downflows reach transonic speeds. Conclusions. We demonstrate that, together with density stratification, the imposed source of negative pressure drives the formation of flux concentrations. We find that the inclusion of partial ionization affects the entropy profile dramatically, causing strong flux concentrations to form closer to the surface. We speculate that turbulence effects are needed to limit the strength of flux concentrations and homogenize the specific entropy to a stratification that is close to marginal.
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| 4. |
- Bourdin, P. -A, et al.
(författare)
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Magnetic Helicity from Multipolar Regions on the Solar Surface
- 2018
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : Institute of Physics Publishing. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 869:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The emergence of dipolar magnetic features on the solar surface is an idealization. Most of the magnetic flux emergence occurs in complex multipolar regions. Here, we show that the surface pattern of magnetic structures alone can reveal the sign of the underlying magnetic helicity in the nearly force-free coronal regions above. The sign of the magnetic helicity can be predicted to good accuracy by considering the three-dimensional position vectors of three spots on the sphere ordered by their relative strengths at the surface and compute from them the skew product. This product, which is a pseudoscalar, is shown to be a good proxy for the sign of the coronal magnetic helicity.
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| 5. |
- Bourdin, P., et al.
(författare)
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Magnetic Helicity Reversal in the Corona at Small Plasma Beta
- 2018
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : Institute of Physics Publishing. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 869:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Solar and stellar dynamos shed small-scale and large-scale magnetic helicity of opposite signs. However, solar wind observations and simulations have shown that some distance above the dynamo both the small-scale and large-scale magnetic helicities have reversed signs. With realistic simulations of the solar corona above an active region now being available, we have access to the magnetic field and current density along coronal loops. We show that a sign reversal in the horizontal averages of the magnetic helicity occurs when the local maximum of the plasma beta drops below unity and the field becomes nearly fully force free. Hence, this reversal is expected to occur well within the solar corona and would not directly be accessible to in situ measurements with the Parker Solar Probe or SolarOrbiter. We also show that the reversal is associated with subtle changes in the relative dominance of structures with positive and negative magnetic helicity.
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| 6. |
- Bracco, Andrea, et al.
(författare)
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Is there a left-handed magnetic field in the solar neighborhood? : Exploring helical magnetic fields in the interstellar medium through dust polarization power spectra
- 2019
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 621
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. The analysis of the full-sky Planck polarization data at 850 mu m revealed unexpected properties of the E- and B-mode power spectra of dust emission in the interstellar medium (ISM). The positive cross-correlations over a wide range of angular scales between the total dust intensity, T, and both E and (most of all) B modes has raised new questions about the physical mechanisms that affect dust polarization, such as the Galactic magnetic field structure. This is key both to better understanding ISM dynamics and to accurately describing Galactic foregrounds to the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). In particular, in the quest to find primordial B modes of the CMB, the observed positive cross-correlation between T and B for interstellar dust requires further investigation towards parity-violating processes in the ISM. Aims. In this theoretical paper we investigate the possibility that the observed cross-correlations in the dust polarization power spectra, and specifically the one between T and B, can be related to a parity-odd quantity in the ISM such as the magnetic helicity. Methods. We produce synthetic dust polarization data, derived from 3D analytical toy models of density structures and helical magnetic fields, to compare with the E and B modes of observations. We present several models. The first is an ideal fully helical isotropic case, such as the Arnold-Beltrami-Childress field. Second, following the nowadays favored interpretation of the T-E signal in terms of the observed alignment between the magnetic field morphology and the filamentary density structure of the diffuse ISM, we design models for helical magnetic fields wrapped around cylindrical interstellar filaments. Lastly, focusing on the observed T-B correlation, we propose a new line of interpretation of the Planck observations advocating the presence of a large-scale helical component of the Galactic magnetic field in the solar neighborhood. Results. Our analysis shows that: I) the sign of magnetic helicity does not affect E and B modes for isotropic magnetic-field configurations; II) helical magnetic fields threading interstellar filaments cannot reproduce the Planck results; and III) a weak helical left-handed magnetic field structure in the solar neighborhood may explain the T-B correlation seen in the Planck data. Such a magnetic-field configuration would also account for the observed large-scale T-E correlation. Conclusions. This work suggests a new perspective for the interpretation of the dust polarization power spectra that supports the imprint of a large-scale structure of the Galactic magnetic field in the solar neighborhood.
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| 7. |
- Brandenburg, Axel
(författare)
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A Global Two-scale Helicity Proxy from pi-ambiguous Solar Magnetic Fields
- 2019
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 883:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- If the alpha effect plays a role in the generation of the Sun's magnetic field, the field should show evidence of magnetic helicity of opposite signs at large and small length scales. Measuring this faces two challenges: (i) in weak-field regions, horizontal field measurements are unreliable because of the pi ambiguity, and (ii) one needs a truly global approach to computing helicity spectra in the case where one expects a sign reversal across the equator at all wavenumbers. Here we develop such a method using spin-2 spherical harmonics to decompose the linear polarization in terms of the parity-even and parity-odd E and B polarizations, respectively. Using simple one- and two-dimensional models, we show that the product of the spectral decompositions of E and B, taken at spherical harmonic degrees that are shifted by one, can act as a proxy of the global magnetic helicity with a sign that represents that in the northern hemisphere. We then apply this method to the analysis of solar synoptic vector magnetograms, from which we extract a pseudo-polarization corresponding to a "pi-ambiguated" magnetic field, i.e., a magnetic field vector that has no arrow. We find a negative sign of the global EB helicity proxy at spherical harmonic degrees of around 6. This could indicate a positive magnetic helicity at large length scales, but the spectrum fails to capture clear evidence of the well-known negative magnetic helicity at smaller scales. This method might also be applicable to stellar and Galactic polarization data.
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| 8. |
- Brandenburg, Axel
(författare)
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Advances in mean-field dynamo theory and applications to astrophysical turbulence
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Plasma Physics. - : Cambridge University Press. - 0022-3778 .- 1469-7807. ; 84:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 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 non-locality, which provided some of the main new qualitative and quantitative insights that emerged from applying the test-field method to magnetic fields of different length and time scales. We also review the status of nonlinear quenching and the relation to magnetic helicity, which is an important observational diagnostic of modern solar dynamo theory. Both solar and some stellar dynamos seem to operate in an intermediate regime that has not yet been possible to model successfully. This regime is bracketed by antisolar-like differential rotation on one end and stellar activity cycles belonging to the superactive stars on the other. The difficulty in modelling this regime may be related to shortcomings in simulating solar/stellar convection. On galactic and extragalactic length scales, the observational constraints on dynamo theory are still less stringent and more uncertain, but recent advances both in theory and observations suggest that more conclusive comparisons may soon be possible also here. The possibility of inversely cascading magnetic helicity in the early Universe is particularly exciting in explaining the recently observed lower limits of magnetic fields on cosmological length scales. Such magnetic fields may be helical with the same sign of magnetic helicity throughout the entire Universe. This would be a manifestation of parity breaking.
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| 9. |
- Brandenburg, Axel
(författare)
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Ambipolar diffusion in large Prandtl number turbulence
- 2019
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 487:2, s. 2673-2684
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We study the effects of ambipolar diffusion (AD) on hydromagnetic turbulence. We consider the regime of large magnetic Prandtl number, relevant to the interstellar medium. In most of the cases, we use the single-fluid approximation where the drift velocity between charged and neutral particles is proportional to the Lorentz force. In two cases we also compare with the corresponding two-fluid model, where ionization and recombination are included in the continuity and momentum equations for the neutral and charged species. The magnetic field properties are found to be well represented by the single-fluid approximation. We quantify the effects of AD on total and spectral kinetic and magnetic energies, the ohmic and AD dissipation rates, the statistics of the magnetic field, the current density, and the linear polarization as measured by the rotationally invariant E and B mode polarizations. We show that the kurtosis of the magnetic field decreases with increasing AD. The E mode polarization changes its skewness from positive values for small AD to negative ones for large AD. Even when AD is weak, changes in AD have a marked effect on the skewness and kurtosis of E, and only a weak effect on those of B. These results open the possibility of employing E and B mode polarizations as diagnostic tools for characterizing turbulent properties of the interstellar medium.
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| 10. |
- Brandenburg, Axel
(författare)
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Analytic solution of an oscillatory migratory α2 stellar dynamo
- 2017
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 598
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Analytic solutions of the mean-field induction equation predict a nonoscillatory dynamo for homogeneous helical turbulence or constant α effect in unbounded or periodic domains. Oscillatory dynamos are generally thought impossible for constant α. Aims. We present an analytic solution for a one-dimensional bounded domain resulting in oscillatory solutions for constant α, but different (Dirichlet and von Neumann or perfect conductor and vacuum) boundary conditions on the two boundaries. Methods. We solve a second order complex equation and superimpose two independent solutions to obey both boundary conditions. Results. The solution has time-independent energy density. On one end where the function value vanishes, the second derivative is finite, which would not be correctly reproduced with sine-like expansion functions where a node coincides with an inflection point. The field always migrates away from the perfect conductor boundary toward the vacuum boundary, independently of the sign of α. Conclusions. The obtained solution may serve as a benchmark for numerical dynamo experiments and as a pedagogical illustration that oscillatory migratory dynamos are possible with constant α.
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