Mean Field Models of Flux Transport Dynamo and Meridional Circulation in the Sun and Stars

Autor(en)
Gopal Hazra, Dibyendu Nandy, Leonid Kitchatinov, Arnab Rai Choudhuri
Abstrakt

The most widely accepted model of the solar cycle is the flux transport dynamo model. This model evolved out of the traditional αΩ dynamo model which was first developed at a time when the existence of the Sun’s meridional circulation was not known. In these models the toroidal magnetic field (which gives rise to sunspots) is generated by the stretching of the poloidal field by solar differential rotation. The primary source of the poloidal field in the flux transport models is attributed to the Babcock–Leighton mechanism, in contrast to the mean-field α -effect used in earlier models. With the realization that the Sun has a meridional circulation, which is poleward at the surface and is expected to be equatorward at the bottom of the convection zone, its importance for transporting the magnetic fields in the dynamo process was recognized. Much of our understanding about the physics of both the meridional circulation and the flux transport dynamo has come from the mean field theory obtained by averaging the equations of MHD over turbulent fluctuations. The mean field theory of meridional circulation makes clear how it arises out of an interplay between the centrifugal and thermal wind terms. We provide a broad review of mean field theories for solar magnetic fields and flows, the flux transport dynamo modelling paradigm and highlight some of their applications to solar and stellar magnetic cycles. We also discuss how the dynamo-generated magnetic field acts on the meridional circulation of the Sun and how the fluctuations in the meridional circulation, in turn, affect the solar dynamo. We conclude with some remarks on how the synergy of mean field theories, flux transport dynamo models and direct numerical simulations can inspire the future of this field.

Organisation(en)
Institut für Astrophysik
Externe Organisation(en)
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Indian Institute of Science, Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte
Journal
Space Science Reviews
Band
219
Anzahl der Seiten
31
ISSN
0038-6308
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-023-00982-y
Publikationsdatum
08-2023
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ÖFOS 2012
103003 Astronomie, 103004 Astrophysik
Schlagwörter
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science
Link zum Portal
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/4ee36d36-dbf0-47cb-b41d-a10d31379b0e