Generation of Magnetic Field by Combined Action of Turbulence and Shear

T. A. Yousef, T. Heinemann, A. A. Schekochihin, N. Kleeorin, I. Rogachevskii, A. B. Iskakov, S. C. Cowley, and J. C. McWilliams
Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 184501 – Published 6 May 2008

Abstract

The feasibility of a mean-field dynamo in nonhelical turbulence with a superimposed linear shear is studied numerically in elongated shearing boxes. Exponential growth of the magnetic field at scales much larger than the outer scale of the turbulence is found. The characteristic scale of the field is lB¯S1/2 and the growth rate is γS, where S is the shearing rate. This newly discovered shear dynamo effect potentially represents a very generic mechanism for generating large-scale magnetic fields in a broad class of astrophysical systems with spatially coherent mean flows.

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  • Received 17 October 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.184501

©2008 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

T. A. Yousef1, T. Heinemann1, A. A. Schekochihin2, N. Kleeorin3, I. Rogachevskii3, A. B. Iskakov4,2,5, S. C. Cowley4,2, and J. C. McWilliams6

  • 1DAMTP, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0WA, United Kingdom
  • 2Plasma Physics Group, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
  • 3Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P. O. Box 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
  • 4Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCLA, Los Angeles, California 90095-1547, USA
  • 5Wolfgang Pauli Institute, University of Vienna, Nordbergstraße 15, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
  • 6Department of Atmospheric Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, California 90095-1565, USA

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Issue

Vol. 100, Iss. 18 — 9 May 2008

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