Joint action of Hall and ambipolar effects in 3D magneto-convection simulations of the quiet Sun. I. Dissipation and generation of waves

TL;DR

This study uses 3D simulations to explore how Hall and ambipolar effects influence wave dissipation, magnetic field structures, and heating in the quiet Sun's magneto-convection, revealing contrasting impacts on wave dynamics and energy transfer.

Contribution

First comprehensive 3D simulation including Hall, ambipolar, and battery effects in solar dynamo, comparing their distinct influences on wave behavior and magnetic structures.

Findings

Ambipolar diffusion reduces Alfven wave perturbations and Poynting flux.

Hall effect enhances incompressible perturbations and chromospheric Poynting flux.

Ambipolar heating correlates with temperature increases over 100 seconds.

Abstract

The partial ionization of the solar plasma causes several nonideal effects such as the ambipolar diffusion, the Hall effect, and the Biermann battery effect. Here we report on the first three-dimensional realistic simulations of solar local dynamo where all three effects were taken into account. The simulations started with a snapshot of already saturated battery-seeded dynamo, where two new series were developed: one with solely ambipolar diffusion and another one also taking into account the Hall term in the generalized Ohm's law. The simulations were then run for about 4 hours of solar time to reach the stationary regime and improve the statistics. In parallel, a purely MHD dynamo simulation was also run for the same amount of time. The simulations are compared in a statistical way. The results show that, with the inclusion of the ambipolar diffusion, the amplitudes of the incompressible perturbations related to Alfven waves are reduced, and the Poynting flux is absorbed, with a frequency dependence. The Hall effect causes the opposite action: significant excess of incompressible perturbations is generated and an excess of the Poynting flux is observed in the chromospheric layers. The model with ambipolar diffusion shows, on average, sharper current sheets and slightly more abundant fast magneto-acoustic shocks in the chromosphere. The model with the Hall effect has higher temperatures at the lower chromosphere and stronger and more vertical magnetic field concentrations all over the chromosphere. The study of high-frequency waves reveals that significant power of incompressible perturbations is associated with areas with intense and more vertical magnetic fields and larger temperatures. We find a positive correlation between the magnitude of the ambipolar heating and the temperature increase at the same location after a characteristic time of 10^2 sec.