Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	EP/H006842/1
Title:	Dynamos in rotating compressible convection
Principal Investigator:	Bushby, Dr PJ
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	Mathematics and Statistics
Organisation:	Newcastle University
Scheme:	First Grant - Revised 2009
Starts:	08 January 2010	Ends:	07 January 2012	Value (£):	97,445
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Continuum Mechanics Non-linear Systems Mathematics
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:	Panel Date Panel Name Outcome 03 Sep 2009 Mathematics Prioritisation Panel Sept 3rd 2009 Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
Hydromagnetic dynamo theory describes the regeneration of magnetic fields as the result of the motions of an electrically-conducting fluid. There are many physical examples of dynamos, particularly in geophysics and astrophysics, and dynamo action has been found in recent liquid metal laboratory experiments. Thermal convection is responsible for driving many of these natural dynamos, the vast majority of which also depend upon the dynamical influence of rotation. Most previous studies of dynamo action in rotating convection have adopted the Boussinesq approximation, which means (amongst other things) that the effects of stratification are ignored. By carrying out a series of numerical simulations, we propose to investigate dynamo action in rotating compressible convection, focusing particularly upon the effects that stratification has upon convectively-driven dynamos. Specifically, we shall address the question of whether or not dynamo action in highly-supercritical compressible convection can lead to the formation of large-scale magnetic fields (something that equivalent Boussinesq dynamos fail to do). We shall also establish whether there is an optimal rotation rate and an optimal level of stratification for dynamo action in the weakly-supercritical parameter regime (close to the onset of convective instabilities). Finally, motivated by previous results from Boussinesq convection, we will look for dynamo action in the subcritical parameter regime, i.e. a region of parameter space in which no convective instabilities would occur in the absence of a magnetic field.
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Project URL:	http://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/paul.bushby/EPSRCrotatingdyn.html
Further Information:
Organisation Website:	http://www.ncl.ac.uk