Secrets of Magnetohydrodynamic Hell: The Solar Circulation Paradox and the Geodynamo

Abstract

Differential rotation is widely supposed to be essential for the dynamo effects that sustain solar and planetary magnetic fields, but dynamo effects tend to oppose the flows that drive them, and it is uncertain what drives differential rotation. The relative sign of the differential rotation and meridional circulation is not consistent with simple convection modified by Coriolis forces. We investigate dynamo mechanisms consistent with the observed solar circulation, and discuss how reactive JxB forces would affect such flows. We formulate scaling rules that relate the magnetic field strength to mean rotation and convective heat transport.