Magnetic fields play an important role in astrophysics. This can have
consequences for us on earth. Imagine yourself in an airbus that relies
on the Global Positioning System (GPS). Suddenly, GPS doesn't work either
because the signal fades (irregularities in the ionosphere produce
diffraction and refraction effects) or because the satellites have to
be shut off for some 15 min if there is a severe magnetic storm
between us and the sun. Most of the time one can do without GPS, but
if you hit some air turbulence and the plane drops by 500 meters,
you better be careful not to hit another plane on your new course!
This is just one reason to be concerned with the magnetic activity
of the sun. Its activity varies cyclicly with a period of 7-17 years,
and it does contribute to the change of the Earth's global climate,
so its not all because of the greenhouse effect! The little ice age
in the 17th century was clearly caused by the so-called Maunder minimum
- a time when the sun was almost completely inactive and didn't
exhibit any spots.
A group at NORDITA is currently working on understanding the mechanism
responsible for generating magnetic fields in the sun and also other
stars where long-term cyclic variations have been detected.
This is done using large scale numerical simulations on computers
in Denmark, Norway, and the UK.
An important theoretical finding has been the generation of large-scale
magnetic fields by helical isotropic turbulence, which led to a new
understanding of the nonlinear effects causing the saturation of a
self-excited homogeneous dynamo. Magnetic helicity has emerged as a
valuable theoretical tool, which predicts that the generation of twisted
magnetic fields is accomanied by the generation of oppositely twisted
magnetic fields.
Easy reading:
Brandenburg, A.: 2001, ``Magnetic mysteries,'' Science 292, 2440-2441
(http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/292/5526/2440)
Review:
Brandenburg, A., & Subramanian, K.: 2005, ``Astrophysical magnetic fields and nonlinear dynamo theory,'' Phys. Rep. 417, 1-209
(astro-ph/0405052, ADS, PDF)
Other important papers:
Brandenburg, A.: 2001, ``The inverse cascade and nonlinear alpha-effect in simulations
of isotropic helical hydromagnetic turbulence,'' Astrophys. J. 550, 824-840
(astro-ph/0006186, ADS)
Blackman, E. G. & Brandenburg, A.: 2002, ``Dynamic nonlinearity in large scale dynamos with shear,'' Astrophys. J. 579, 359-373
(astro-ph/0204497, ADS)
Brandenburg, A.: 2005, ``The case for a distributed solar dynamo shaped by near-surface shear,'' Astrophys. J. 625, 539-547
(astro-ph/0502275, ADS, PDF)
Brandenburg, A., Rädler, K.-H., Rheinhardt, M., & Käpylä, P. J.: 2008, ``Magnetic diffusivity tensor and dynamo effects in rotating
and shearing turbulence,'' Astrophys. J. 676, 740-751
(arXiv:0710.4059, ADS, PDF)
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