Cyclonic and anticyclonic rotation in a cylinder cooled inhomogeneously on the top

In this work, we study the development of vortical structures generated in a rotating cylinder non-homogeneously cooled on the top. In the axisymmetric regime, for moderate vertical temperature differences and any rotation rate, cyclonic and anticyclonic rotations coexist in the flow: a counterclockwise motion at upper levels, giving place to a vertical top-down vortex, and a clockwise rotation at lower levels that generates a spin up motion. For lower rotation rates and high enough vertical temperature differences, only cyclonic top-down vortices survive and get stronger. We perform a force balance analysis to explain the phenomena. In the non-axisymmetric regime, no anticyclonic rotation at the bottom is reported and the cyclonic top-down vortex either disappears or splits up in two top-down vortices, depending on the ambient rotation rate. The intensity of the cooling on the top and how localized this cool region is affect the flow developed. When the horizontal temperature difference on the top is larger than the vertical temperature difference between top and bottom, stable axisymmetric top-down vortices with an inner updraft of warmer air are reported. The more localized the cooling above, the more difficult the development of the inner updraft becomes. Results may contribute to the understanding of the relevance of thermal processes in tornadogenesis.