Formation of Large-Scale Vortices in Rotating Convection and Interaction with Magnetic Fields

Abstract:

Using numerical simulations of rapidly rotating Boussinesq convection in a Cartesian box, we study the formation of long-lived, large-scale, depth-invariant vortices. These vortices, which are always cyclonic in the explored parameter range, grow to the horizontal box size. We will first describe the possible mechanisms by which they form in non-magnetic convection and how they affect the flow of heat through the system. Using MHD simulations, we will then describe how the large-scale vortices interact with the self-sustained magnetic field that is produced at small scales by convective motions.