event
Monday 06 Feb 2017: Dynamos in rotating convection
Dr Paul Bushby - Newcastle University
H103 14:30-16:30
Most stars and planets exhibit some degree of magnetism. In all probability, these magnetic fields are generated by hydromagnetic dynamo action, whereby the inductive effects due to the motions of electrically-conducting fluids in the astrophysical body are able to sustain magnetic fields against the action of ohmic dissipation. The surprising aspect of this is that many astrophysical dynamos seem to produce large-scale ordered magnetic fields rather than simply small-scale disordered fields that are structured on the scale of the underlying flow. Motivated by these considerations, I will describe a prototypical dynamo problem, namely dynamo action driven by convection in a rotating electrically-conducting fluid. I will discuss the circumstances under which such a system can drive small- and large-scale dynamos and will relate these results to the predictions from standard mean-field dynamo theory.
