Dynamics of the solar tachocline III: Numerical solutions of the Gough and McIntyre model

TL;DR

This paper presents the first numerical simulations supporting the Gough and McIntyre model of the solar tachocline, showing how a primordial magnetic field and meridional flows shape its structure and dynamics.

Contribution

It provides the first numerical solutions consistent with the Gough and McIntyre model, detailing the magnetic confinement and flow interactions in the solar tachocline.

Findings

Tachocline thickness scales with meridional flow amplitude as predicted.

Radiation zone exhibits near-uniform rotation matching observations.

The tachopause is a thin magnetic boundary layer at the tachocline base.

Abstract

We present the first numerical simulations of the solar interior to exhibit a tachocline consistent with the Gough and McIntyre (1998) model. We find nonlinear, axisymmetric, steady-state numerical solutions in which: (1) a large-scale primordial field is confined within the radiation zone by downwelling meridional flows that are gyroscopically pumped in the convection zone (2) the radiation zone is in almost-uniform rotation, with a rotation rate consistent with observations (3) the bulk of the tachocline is magnetic free, in thermal-wind balance and in thermal equilibrium and (4) the interaction between the field and the flows takes place within a very thin magnetic boundary layer, the tachopause, located at the bottom of the tachocline. We show that the thickness of the tachocline scales with the amplitude of the meridional flows exactly as predicted by Gough and McIntyre. We also determine the parameter conditions under which such solutions can be obtained, and provide a simple explanation for the failure of previous numerical attempts at reproducing the Gough and McIntyre model. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings for future numerical models of the solar interior, and for future observations of the Sun and other stars.