A Rolling Grant in Astrophysical Fluids

许多天体物理现象涉及磁场、自转和流体流动之间的复杂相互作用。我们打算进行一项系统和综合的研究方案，以调查各种天体中的这种复杂相互作用。我们将利用分析和数值技术的组合(包括优化用于大规模并行机器的尖端数值算法的应用)来获得对这些现象的理解。我们统一的哲学是研究这些天体物理流体中潜在的基本物理相互作用，并利用在一个领域获得的专业知识，以便在具有相同基本物理结构的不同天体上取得进展。我们讨论的物理现象是：(1)太阳磁场的产生，包括众所周知的11年太阳黑子周期的形成。(2)太阳黑子的结构及其与日冕磁场的联系。(3)行星中对流的形式和磁场的产生。(4)磁场的衰变和中子星的热结构；(5)快速自转恒星的动力学。(6)湍流的起源和磁场在吸积盘中的作用。

Many astrophysical phenomena involve the complex interaction between magnetic fields, rotation and fluid flows. We intend to undertake a systematic and integrated programme of research to investigate this complex interaction in a wide variety of astrophysical objects. We shall utilise a combination of analytical and numerical techniques (including the application of cutting edge numerical algorithms optimised for use on massively parallel machines) to gain an understanding of such phenomena. Our unifying philosophy is to investigate the underlying fundamental physical interactions in these astrophysical fluids and to use expertise gained in one area in order to make progress on different objects that have the same underlying physical structures. The physical phenomena that we address are (1) The generation of magnetic fields in the Sun, including the formation of the well-known eleven year sunspot cycle. (2) The structure of sunspots and the link with the magnetic fields in the solar corona. (3) The form of convection and the generation of magnetic fields in planets. (4) The decay of magnetic fields and the thermal structure of neutron stars (5) The dynamics of rapidly-rotating stars. (6) The origin of turbulence and the the role of magnetic fields in accretion disks.