Onset of plane layer magnetoconvection at low Ekman number

TL;DR

This study investigates the onset of magnetoconvection in rotating fluid layers at very low Ekman numbers, identifying distinct magnetic and viscous modes and their transition regimes through numerical analysis.

Contribution

It provides a detailed numerical analysis of magnetoconvection onset at low Ekman numbers, confirming asymptotic scalings and mapping mode transitions in parameter space.

Findings

Confirmed existence of magnetic and viscous unstable modes at low Ekman numbers.

Quantified asymptotic scalings for the onset of these modes.

Mapped the transition regime between magnetic and viscous modes.

Abstract

We study the onset of magnetoconvection between two infinite horizontal planes subject to a vertical magnetic field aligned with background rotation. In order to gain insight into the convection taking place in the Earth's tangent cylinder (TC), we target regimes of asymptotically strong rotation. The critical Rayleigh number $Ra_{c}$ and critical wavenumber are computed numerically by solving the linear stability problem in a systematic way. A parametric study is conducted, varying the Ekman number, $E$ (ratio of viscous to Coriolis forces) and the Elsasser number, $\Lambda$ (ratio of the Lorentz force to the Coriolis force). $E$ is varied from $10^{-9}$ to $10^{-2}$ and $\Lambda$ from $10^{-3}$ to $1$. Apply to arbitrary thermal and magnetic Prandtl numbers, our results verify and confirm previous experimental and theoretical results showing the existence of two distinct unstable modes at low values of $E$ one being controlled by the magnetic field, the other being controlled by viscosity (often called the viscous mode). Asymptotic scalings for the onset of these modes have been numerically confirmed and precisely quantified. We show that with no-slip boundary conditions, the asymptotic behaviour is reached for $E<10^{-6}$ and establish a map in the $(E,\Lambda)$ plane. We distinguish regions where convection sets in either in the magnetic mode or in the viscous mode. Our analysis gives the regime in which the transition between magnetic and viscous modes may be observed. We also show that within the asymptotic regime, the role played by the kinematic boundary conditions is minimal.