Oscillatory migrating magnetic fields in helical turbulence in spherical domains

Dhrubaditya Mitra, Reza Tavakol, Petri J. Käpylä, Axel Brandenburg

Published 2009-01-15, updated 2010-07-17Version 3

We present direct numerical simulations of the equations of compressible magnetohydrodynamics in a wedge-shaped spherical shell, without shear, but with random helical forcing which has negative (positive) helicity in the northern (southern) hemisphere. We find a large-scale magnetic field that is nearly uniform in the azimuthal direction and approximately antisymmetric about the equator. Furthermore, the large-scale field in each hemisphere oscillates on nearly dynamical time scales with reversals of polarity and equatorward migration. Corresponding mean-field models also show similar migratory oscillations with a frequency that is nearly independent of the magnetic Reynolds number. This mechanism may be relevant for understanding equatorward migration seen in the solar dynamo.