Thermal and magnetic instabilities in a rapidly rotating fluid sphere

Abstract

Abstract A linear analysis is used to study the stability of a rapidly rotating, electrically-conducting, self-gravitating fluid sphere of radius r 0, containing a uniform distribution of heat sources and under the influence of an azimuthal magnetic field whose strength is proportional to the distance from the rotation axis. The Lorentz force is of a magnitude comparable with that of the Coriolis force and so convective motions are fully three-dimensional, filling the entire sphere. We are primarily interested in the limit where the ratio q of the thermal diffusivity κ to the magnetic diffusivity η is much smaller than unity since this is possibly of the greatest geophysical relevance. Thermal convection sets in when the temperature gradient exceeds some critical value as measured by the modified Rayleigh number Rc. The critical temperature gradient is smallest (Rc reaches a minimum) when the magnetic field strength parameter Λ ≃ 1. [Rc and Λ are defined in (2.3).] The instability takes the form of a very...