Ryota Shimada

Rotation and magnetic fields in the cores of evolved massive stars in their final phase are thought to play an important role in the subsequent supernova explosion and the formation of a compact object, especially in hyperenergetic explosions. However, the interplay between rotation, magnetic fields, and convection up to the final collapse is a nonlinear, multidimensional effect that is difficult to capture with standard one-dimensional (1D) stellar evolution models. We quantify the magnetic angular momentum (AM) transport in the convective oxygen-burning shell in a three-dimensional (3D) rotating core-collapse progenitor model. We find that the radial direction of magnetic AM transport is directly related to the Rossby number of the convective oxygen shell. We also analyze the magnetic energy, which sets the amplitude of the magnetic AM flux. The magnetic energy is determined both by rotation and the nuclear energy generation rate, in a manner analogous to that for low-mass stars like the Sun. Based on these results, we construct a 1D model of magnetic AM transport in the convection zone for the first time in terms of properties of a given stellar evolution model. This model successfully reproduces the AM transport in the 3D model when the convective dynamo is in a quasi-steady state. Notably, our model for radial AM transport is the first to account for inward AM flux. This may result in interesting differences compared to the conventional treatment of magnetic AM transport in stellar evolution models, which assume AM is transported outward by a purely diffusive process.

Magnetic activity in solar-like stars shows a systematic dependence on stellar rotation rate, known as the “activity–rotation relationship.” Recent observations further reveal that large-scale surface magnetic fields in solar-like stars are anticorrelated with the Rossby number (Ro) in the moderate regime (0.1 < Ro < 1), reaching saturation at extremely low Rossby numbers (Ro < 0.1). The cause of this saturation remains one of the open issues in stellar dynamo theory. We performed nonlinear mean-field dynamo simulations with the stellar rotation rate and turbulent diffusivity ( ν ₀ ) as free parameters. The dependence of the magnetic field strength ( B ) in the deep convection zone is quantified as ( B ∝ Ro − 0.45 ν 0 0.54 ). Our analysis of the differential rotation energy shows that this dependence is maintained by a balance between the angular momentum transport by the turbulence and the large-scale magnetic field. Together with the reduction of the convective velocity revealed at extremely low Rossby numbers by recent local three-dimensional simulations, our results suggest that inefficient turbulent angular momentum transport might drive the saturation of the large-scale magnetic field.

Solar magnetic fields comprise an 11 yr activity cycle, represented by the number of sunspots. The maintenance of such a solar magnetic field can be attributed to fluid motion in the convection zone, i.e., a dynamo. This study conducts the mean-field analyses of the global solar dynamo simulation presented by Hotta et al. (2016). Although the study succeeds in producing coherent large-scale magnetic fields at high Reynolds numbers, the detailed physics of the maintenance of these fields have not been fully understood. This study extracts the α tensor and the turbulent magnetic diffusivity tensor β through mean-field analyses. The turbulent magnetic diffusivity exhibits a significant decrease toward high Reynolds numbers. The decrease in the turbulent magnetic diffusivity suppresses the energy conversion of large-scale field to small-scale field. This implies that the decrease in the turbulent magnetic diffusivity contributes to the maintenance of a large-scale magnetic field at high Reynolds numbers. A significant downward turbulent pumping is observed; it is enhanced in the weak phase of the large-scale field. This study proposes a cyclic reversal process of a large-scale field, which is dominantly driven by the α effect and is possibly triggered by downward pumping.

We analyze the simulation result shown in Hotta & Kusano (2021) in which the solar-like differential rotation is reproduced. The Sun is rotating differentially with the fast equator and the slow pole. It is widely thought that the thermal convection maintains the differential rotation, but recent high-resolution simulations tend to fail to reproduce the fast equator. This fact is an aspect of one of the biggest problems in solar physics called the convective conundrum. Hotta & Kusano succeed in reproducing the solar-like differential rotation without using any manipulation with an unprecedentedly high-resolution simulation. In this study, we analyze the simulation data to understand the maintenance mechanism of the fast equator. Our analyses lead to conclusions that are summarized as follows. (1) The superequipatition magnetic field is generated by the compression, which can indirectly convert the massive internal energy to magnetic energy. (2) The efficient small-scale energy transport suppresses large-scale convection energy. (3) Non-Taylor–Proudman differential rotation is maintained by the entropy gradient caused by the anisotropic latitudinal energy transport enhanced by the magnetic field. (4) The fast equator is maintained by the meridional flow mainly caused by the Maxwell stress. The Maxwell stress itself also has a role in the angular momentum transport for the fast near-surface equator (we call it the P unching ball effect). The fast equator in the simulation is reproduced not due to the low Rossby number regime but due to the strong magnetic field. This study newly finds the role of the magnetic field in the maintenance of differential rotation.