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Title: SPONTANEOUS FORMATION OF SURFACE MAGNETIC STRUCTURE FROM LARGE-SCALE DYNAMO IN STRONGLY STRATIFIED CONVECTION

Journal Article · · Astrophysical Journal Letters
 [1];  [2]
  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aichi University of Education, Kariya, Aichi 446-8501 (Japan)
  2. Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan)

We report the first successful simulation of spontaneous formation of surface magnetic structures from a large-scale dynamo by strongly stratified thermal convection in Cartesian geometry. The large-scale dynamo observed in our strongly stratified model has physical properties similar to those in earlier weakly stratified convective dynamo simulations, indicating that the α {sup 2}-type mechanism is responsible for the dynamo. In addition to the large-scale dynamo, we find that large-scale structures of the vertical magnetic field are spontaneously formed in the convection zone (CZ) surface only in cases with a strongly stratified atmosphere. The organization of the vertical magnetic field proceeds in the upper CZ within tens of convective turnover time and band-like bipolar structures recurrently appear in the dynamo-saturated stage. We consider several candidates to be possibly be the origin of the surface magnetic structure formation, and then suggest the existence of an as-yet-unknown mechanism for the self-organization of the large-scale magnetic structure, which should be inherent in the strongly stratified convective atmosphere.

OSTI ID:
22654335
Journal Information:
Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 822, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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