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Updated: May 28, 2026

Magnetically Induced Rotating Rayleigh-Taylor Instability
Published on: March 3, 2017
Mach number dependence of turbulent magnetic field amplification: solenoidal versus compressive flows
C Federrath1, G Chabrier, J Schober
1Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, F-69364 Lyon, France. federrath@uni-heidelberg.de
Abstract:
We study the growth rate and saturation level of the turbulent dynamo in magnetohydrodynamical simulations of turbulence, driven with solenoidal (divergence-free) or compressive (curl-free) forcing. For models with Mach numbers ranging from 0.02 to 20, we find significantly different magnetic field geometries, amplification rates, and saturation levels, decreasing strongly at the transition from subsonic to supersonic flows, due to the development of shocks. Both extreme types of turbulent forcing drive the dynamo, but solenoidal forcing is more efficient, because it produces more vorticity.
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