Wreathes of Magnetism in Rapidly Rotating Suns

Details Wreathes of Magnetism in Rapidly Rotating Suns Wreathes of Magnetism in Rapidly Rotating Suns

2009-06-12

arxiv.org/abs/0906.2407v1

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

22 pages, 16 color figures in emulateapj format. Images heavily degraded, but legible. Submitted to ApJ

Scientific paper

When our Sun was young it rotated much more rapidly than now. Observations of young, rapidly rotating stars indicate that many possess substantial magnetic activity and strong axisymmetric magnetic fields. We conduct simulations of dynamo action in rapidly rotating suns with the 3-D MHD anelastic spherical harmonic (ASH) code to explore the complex coupling between rotation, convection and magnetism. Here we study dynamo action realized in the bulk of the convection zone for two systems, rotating at three and five times the current solar rate. We find that substantial organized global-scale magnetic fields are achieved by dynamo action in these systems. Striking wreathes of magnetism are built in the midst of the convection zone, coexisting with the turbulent convection. This is a great surprise, for many solar dynamo theories have suggested that a tachocline of penetration and shear at the base of the convection zone is a crucial ingredient for organized dynamo action, whereas these simulations do not include such tachoclines. Some dynamos achieved in these rapidly rotating states build persistent global-scale fields which maintain amplitude and polarity for thousands of days. In the case at five times the solar rate, the dynamo can undergo cycles of activity, with fields varying in strength and even changing polarity. As the magnetic fields wax and wane in strength, the primary response in the convective flows involves the axisymmetric differential rotation, which begins to vary on similar time scales. Bands of relatively fast and slow fluid propagate toward the poles on time scales of roughly 500 days. In the Sun, similar patterns are observed in the poleward branch of the torsional oscillations, and these may represent a response to poleward propagating magnetic field deep below the solar surface.

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