Parag Gupta
Research title: Exploring the Dynamics of Convection-Driven Dynamos in Rotating Spherical Shells.
Research Summary
Most stars (and many planets) have substantial magnetic fields generated by dynamo processes due to motions of electrically conducting fluids in the interiors of these objects. These dynamo processes are modelled by a combination of the equations of fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, and electrodynamics. The models vary in complexity but for a realistic description they need to be three-dimensional and nonlinear and thus require numerical integration. This project will involve modifying and using existing high-performance numerical codes for large-scale computations, often in parallel environment, to model and study the generation of various fluid flow and magnetic field structures in solar and stellar interiors as functions of the basic parameters of the problem. Magnetic fields and the Coriolis force exert essential anisotropy in the system and numerical simulations based on spectral and pseudospectral methods are necessary to obtain quantitative results in these problems. Comparisons between numerical simulations and observations whenever possible will be of special interest.