The adjustment to Taylor's constraint in the presence of an ambient field

Details The adjustment to Taylor's constraint in the presence of an ambient field The adjustment to Taylor's constraint in the presence of an ambient field

Jul 1999

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1999pepi..114..181w&link_type=abstract

Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, Volume 114, Issue 3-4, p. 181-196.

Physics

1

Scientific paper

The need to satisfy Taylor's constraint is probably the single most important constraint on the dynamics of planetary magnetic fields. We point out that the adjustment to Taylor's constraint is considerably more difficult in the Galilean moons of Jupiter than in the Earth, e.g., simply due to the presence of the ambient Jovian field. In particular, if the ambient field is of sufficient strength, weak field solutions are disallowed. The `default option' of falling back to an Ekman state, if Taylor's constraint cannot be satisfied in any other way, is therefore no longer available. The magnetic field must therefore be in a Taylor state, a model-Z state, or something else entirely, but it cannot be in an Ekman state. In this work, we present a simple model of magnetoconvection specifically designed to explore this adjustment to Taylor's constraint in the limit of vanishing viscosity, in the presence of an ambient field. We find that for a weak imposed thermal wind, the system approaches a Taylor state as the strength of the ambient field is increased. Strong thermal wind solutions behave in a very different manner. Initially, as the ambient field strength is increased, the system exhibits many features, indicating that a Taylor state is being approached. However, it never reaches a Taylor state, evolving instead to a model-Z state as the ambient field strength is increased yet further.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

The adjustment to Taylor's constraint in the presence of an ambient field does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with The adjustment to Taylor's constraint in the presence of an ambient field, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The adjustment to Taylor's constraint in the presence of an ambient field will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1576846