Dynamos in rotating compressible convection

Abstract

Motivated by open questions in fundamental dynamo theory, the overall aim of this paper is to investigate some of the properties of dynamo action in rotating compressible convection. We study dynamo action in a convective layer of electrically-conducting, compressible fluid, rotating about the vertical axis. In order to identify the effects of rotation, we also carry out an equivalent set of calculations of convectively-driven dynamo action in a non-rotating layer. Whether or not the layer is rotating, the convection acts as a small-scale dynamo provided that the magnetic diffusivity is small enough. Defining the magnetic Reynolds number in terms of the horizontal scales of motion, we find that rotation reduces the critical value of this parameter above which dynamo action is observed. In the nonlinear regime, a rotating dynamo calculation and a separate non-rotating simulation are found to saturate at a similar level, even though the mid-layer value of the local magnetic Reynolds number is smaller in the rotating case. We compute the Lyapunov exponents of the flow to show that the stretching properties of the convection are modified by rotation. Furthermore, rotation significantly reduces the magnetic energy dissipation in the lower part of the layer.