Induction, helicity, and alpha effect in a toroidal screw flow of liquid gallium

Symmetries of Magnetic Fields Driven by Spherical Dynamos of Exoplanets and Their Host Stars

Observations of exoplanets open a new area of scientific activity and the structure of exoplanet magnetospheres is an important part of this area. Here we use symmetry arguments and experiences in spherical dynamo modeling to obtain the set of possible magnetic configurations for exoplanets and their corresponding host stars. The main part of our results is that the possible choice is much richer than the basic dipole magnetic field of both exoplanets and stars. Other options, for example, are quadrupole configurations or mixed parity solutions. Expected configurations of current sheets for the above mentioned exoplanet host star systems are presented as well.

Analysis of mean and fluctuating helicity measured by TomoPIV in swirling jet

Important role of helicity was theoretically predicted for the generation of large-scale magnetic fields and atmospheric vortices. Helicity can lead to a reduction of turbulent dissipation in the atmosphere or in a specific constrained flow, e.g. in pipe. We use the TomoPIV data (42 cube of grid points, resolution 0.84 mm) to measure 3D velocity field of turbulent swirling flows. We study spatial distribution of the mean and fluctuating components of energy and helicity. We find that helical turbulence excitation and decay along stream of the jet strongly depend on the inflow swirl. We observe spatial separation of turbulent flow with different sign of helicity while integrated values are conserves. It is shown that large scale swirling flow induces helicity at the small scales. Our results bring valuable materials for benchmark the modern numerical simulations with turbulent closure technique.

Mean-field model of the von Kármán sodium dynamo experiment using soft iron impellers

It has been observed that dynamo action occurs in the von-Kármán-Sodium (VKS) experiment only when the rotating disks and the blades are made of soft iron. The purpose of this paper is to numerically investigate the role of soft iron in the VKS dynamo scenario. This is done by using a mean-field model based on an axisymmetric mean flow, a localized permeability distribution, and a localized α effect modeling the action of the small velocity scales between the blades. The action of the rotating blades is modeled by an axisymmetric effective permeability field. Key properties of the flow giving to the numerical magnetic field a geometric structure similar to that observed experimentally are identified. Depending on the permeability of the disks and the effective permeability of the blades, the dynamo that is obtained is either oscillatory or stationary. Our numerical results confirm the leading role played by the ferromagnetic impellers. A scenario for the VKS dynamo is proposed.

α effect in a turbulent liquid-metal plane Couette flow

We calculate the mean electromotive force in plane Couette flows of a nonrotating conducting fluid under the influence of a large-scale magnetic field for driven turbulence. A vertical stratification of the turbulence intensity results in an α effect owing to the presence of horizontal shear. Here we discuss the possibility of an experimental determination of the components of the α tensor using both quasilinear theory and nonlinear numerical simulations. For magnetic Prandtl numbers of the order of unity, we find that in the high-conductivity limit the α effect in the direction of the flow clearly exceeds the component in spanwise direction. In this limit, α runs linearly with the magnetic Reynolds number Rm, while in the low-conductivity limit it runs with the product Rm·Re, where Re is the kinetic Reynolds number, so that for a given Rm the α effect grows with decreasing magnetic Prandtl number. For the small magnetic Prandtl numbers of liquid metals, a common value for the horizontal elements of the α tensor appears, which makes it unimportant whether the α effect is measured in the spanwise or the streamwise directions. The resulting effect should lead to an observable voltage of about 0.5 mV in both directions for magnetic fields of 1 kG and velocity fluctuations of about 1 m/s in a channel of 50-cm height (independent of its width).

Turbulent viscosity and turbulent magnetic diffusivity in a decaying spin-down flow of liquid sodium

The free decay of a strong flow of liquid sodium (at Reynolds number defined via the maximal mean velocity and the radius of the channel cross section up to Re≈3×10(60) and the corresponding magnetic Reynolds number up to Rm≈30) generated by the sudden stop of a rapidly rotating toroidal channel is studied experimentally. The toroidal and poloidal components of velocity are measured using a potential probe. We describe the onset of motion, the evolution of strongly anisotropic fluctuations, and the homogenization and decay of turbulence in the final period. We analyze the statistical characteristics of velocity fields in relation to the behavior of effective magnetic diffusivity estimated from measurements of the phase shift between the induced and applied magnetic fields. For the late (self-similar) decay of turbulent flow, turbulent viscosity is shown to be dependent on the root-mean-square velocity pulsations and can be expressed as νt∼νRe1.3. The behavior of turbulent magnetic diffusivity depends on the magnetic Reynolds number defined in terms of the root-mean-square velocity pulsations. At low magnetic Reynolds numbers (Rmrms<1), turbulent magnetic diffusivity grows rapidly with increasing velocity pulsations (ηt∼ηRmrms2). If the magnetic Reynolds number exceeds unity, the behavior of turbulent magnetic diffusivity becomes similar to the behavior of turbulent viscosity. The highest values of turbulent magnetic diffusivity are achieved at the end of braking, which corresponds to the transient stage of a strongly anisotropic turbulent flow in which the poloidal velocity oscillations prevail.

Direct measurement of effective magnetic diffusivity in turbulent flow of liquid sodium

The first direct measurements of effective magnetic diffusivity in turbulent flow of electroconductive fluids (the so-called β effect) under the magnetic Reynolds number Rm≫1 are reported. The measurements are performed in a nonstationary turbulent flow of liquid sodium, generated in a closed toroidal channel. The peak level of the Reynolds number reached Re≈3×10(6), which corresponds to the magnetic Reynolds number Rm≈30. The magnetic diffusivity of the liquid metal was determined by measuring the phase shift between the induced and the applied magnetic fields. The maximal deviation of magnetic diffusivity from its laminar value reaches about 50%.

Magnetic reversals in a simple model of magnetohydrodynamics

We study a simple magnetohydrodynamical approach in which hydrodynamics and MHD turbulence are coupled in a shell model, with given dynamo constraints in the large scales. We consider the case of a low Prandtl number fluid for which the inertial range of the velocity field is much wider than that of the magnetic field. Random reversals of the magnetic field are observed and it shown that the magnetic field has a nontrivial evolution--linked to the nature of the hydrodynamics turbulence.

Effect of the Lorentz force on on-off dynamo intermittency

An investigation of the dynamo instability close to the threshold produced by an ABC forced flow is presented. We focus on the on-off intermittency behavior of the dynamo and the countereffect of the Lorentz force in the nonlinear stage of the dynamo. The Lorentz force drastically alters the statistics of the turbulent fluctuations of the flow and reduces their amplitude. As a result, much longer bursts (on phases) are observed than is expected based on the amplitude of the fluctuations in the kinematic regime of the dynamo. For large Reynolds numbers, the duration time of the on phase follows a power law distribution, while for smaller Reynolds numbers the Lorentz force completely kills the noise and the system transits from a chaotic state into a laminar time periodic flow. The behavior of the on-off intermittency as the Reynolds number is increased is also examined. The connections with dynamo experiments and theoretical modeling are discussed.

Full perturbation solution for the flow in a rotating torus

We present a perturbation solution for a pressure-driven fluid flow in a rotating toroidal channel. The analysis shows the difference between the solutions of full and simplified equations studied earlier. The result is found to be reliable for low Reynolds number (Re), as was the case for a previously studied solution for high Re. The convergence conditions are defined for the whole range of governing parameters. The viscous flow exhibits some interesting features in flow pattern and hydrodynamic characteristics.

Generation of a magnetic field by dynamo action in a turbulent flow of liquid sodium

We report the observation of dynamo action in the von Kármán sodium experiment, i.e., the generation of a magnetic field by a strongly turbulent swirling flow of liquid sodium. Both mean and fluctuating parts of the field are studied. The dynamo threshold corresponds to a magnetic Reynolds number R(m) approximately 30. A mean magnetic field of the order of 40 G is observed 30% above threshold at the flow lateral boundary. The rms fluctuations are larger than the corresponding mean value for two of the components. The scaling of the mean square magnetic field is compared to a prediction previously made for high Reynolds number flows.