Numerical dynamo models of Uranus' and Neptune's magnetic fields

Abstract

The non-axisymmetric, non-dipolar magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune are markedly different from the axially-dipolar dominated fields of the other planets in our Solar System with active dynamos. Stanley and Bloxham [Stanley, S., Bloxham, J., 2004. Nature 428, 151–153] used numerical modeling to demonstrate that Uranus' and Neptune's unusual fields could be the result of a different convective region geometry in these planets. They found that a numerical dynamo operating in a thin shell surrounding a stably-stratified fluid interior produces magnetic field morphologies similar to those of Uranus and Neptune. This geometry for the convective region was initially proposed by Hubbard et al. [Hubbard, W.B., Podolak, M., Stevenson, D.J., 1995. In: Cruickshank, D. (Ed.), Neptune and Triton. Univ. of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp. 109–138] to explain both the magnetic field morphology as well as the low intrinsic heat flows from these planets. Here we examine the influence of varying the stable layer radius in numerical models and compare the results to thin shell models surrounding solid inner cores. We find that a limited range of stable-layer shell thicknesses exist in which Uranus/Neptune-like field morphologies result. This allows us to put constraints on the size of the convective layers in Uranus and Neptune.