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Updated: Jan 26, 2026

Magnetically Induced Rotating Rayleigh-Taylor Instability
Published on: March 3, 2017
Generation of a magnetic field by a double vortex in a rotating cylinder
M C Navarro1, D Castaño1, H Herrero1
1Departamento de Matemáticas, Facultad de Ciencias y Tecnologías Químicas, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain.
Abstract:
In this paper we use simulations of the magnetohydrodynamic equations coupled with heat to show the generation of magnetic field by the dynamical interaction of a pair of vortices in a fluid electrically conducting within a cylindrical domain nonhomogeneously heated from below, setting in a rotation frame. For large enough rotation rates we show that the formation of a pair of vortices inside the primary whirl gives rise to a magnetic field. The magnetic field has a strong horizontal component, and the magnetic lines go from one vortex to the other.
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