Abstract

We carry out an investigation of axisymmetric shear Alfven waves in a spherical layer of an incompressible resistive fluid when a strong dipolar magnetic field is applied. A decomposition on the spherical harmonics base is used to compute the eigenmodes of the system. Numerical results show that the least-damped Alfvenic modes naturally concentrate near the magnetic polar axis. These modes also show internal shear/magnetic layers associated with resonant field lines. This model is useful when modelling planetary cores sustaining a dynamo, magnetic neutron stars or to the magnetic layer of roAp stars. In this latter case, it shows that shear Alfven waves provide a good instance of non-perturbative effects due to the strong magnetic field of such stars.

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