A Babcock–Leighton-type Solar Dynamo Operating in the Bulk of the Convection Zone

Abstract

The toroidal magnetic field is assumed to be generated in the tachocline in most Babcock–Leighton (BL)-type solar dynamo models, in which the poloidal field is produced by the emergence and subsequent dispersal of sunspot groups. However, magnetic activity of fully convective stars and MHD simulations of global stellar convection have recently raised serious doubts regarding the importance of the tachocline in the generation of the toroidal field. In this study, we aim to develop a new BL-type dynamo model, in which the dynamo operates mainly within the bulk of the convection zone. Our 2D model includes the effect of solar-like differential rotation, one-cell meridional flow, near-surface radial pumping, strong turbulent diffusion, BL-type poloidal source, and nonlinear back-reaction of the magnetic field on its source with a vertical outer boundary condition. The model leads to a simple dipolar configuration of the poloidal field that has the dominant latitudinal component, which is wound up by the latitudinal shear within the bulk of the convection zone to generate the toroidal flux. As a result, the tachocline plays a negligible role in the model. The model reproduces the basic properties of the solar cycle, including (a) approximately 11 yr cycle period and 18 yr extended cycle period; (b) equatorward propagation of the antisymmetric toroidal field starting from high latitudes; and (c) polar field evolution that is consistent with observations. Our model opens the possibility for a paradigm shift in understanding the solar cycle to transition from the classical flux transport dynamo.