Journal of Fluid Mechanics

Table of Contents - Volume 253 - 1993  


Axisymmetric magnetoconvection in a twisted field

C. A.  Jones a1 and D. J.  Galloway a2
a1 Department of Mathematics, University of Exeter EX4 4QE, UK
a2 School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia

Article author query
jones ca   [Google Scholar] 
jones dj   [Google Scholar] 
 

Abstract

The process of flux rope formation in a convecting cell is studied. The magnetic field has both a meridional and an azimuthal component, and so corresponds to a twisted field. Convection occurs in this cylindrical cell because of heating from below, and is assumed to take an axisymmetric form. Only the Boussinesq problem is studied here, but both the kinematic and the dynamic regimes are considered.

The two cases where the twisted field is due to (a) an imposed flux of vertical current and (b) an imposed flux of vertical vorticity are considered. Strongly twisted ropes can be generated more easily in case (b) than in case (a).

We show that convection can produce ropes twisted in the opposite direction from that of the initial field. We also find that solutions can be oscillatory even when linear theory predicts steady solutions.

(Published Online April 26 2006)
(Received August 20 1992)
(Revised February 10 1993)


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