Influence of ambipolar and Hall effects on vorticity in 3D simulations of magneto-convection

TL;DR

This study investigates how ambipolar diffusion and Hall effects influence vorticity and magnetic structures in 3D solar magneto-convection simulations, revealing contrasting impacts on vorticity and magnetic field morphology.

Contribution

It provides the first comparative analysis of ambipolar and Hall effects on vorticity and magnetic structures in 3D solar magneto-convection simulations.

Findings

Ambipolar diffusion reduces vorticity and dissipates vortical energy into heat.

Hall effect enhances vorticity and produces more vertical, long-lived flux tubes.

Magnetic field structures are significantly affected by the Hall effect, influencing their evolution.

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the analysis of 3D simulations of solar magneto-convection that include the joint action of the ambipolar diffusion and the Hall effect. Three simulation-runs are compared: one including both ambipolar diffusion and Hall effect; one including only ambipolar diffusion; and one without any of these two effects. The magnetic field is amplified from initial field to saturation level by the action of turbulent local dynamo. In each of these cases, we study 2 hours of simulated solar time after the local dynamo reaches the saturation regime. We analyze the power spectra of vorticity, of magnetic field fluctuations and of the different components of the magnetic Poynting flux responsible for the transport of vertical or horizontal perturbations. Our preliminary results show that the ambipolar diffusion produces a strong reduction of vorticity in the upper chromospheric layers and that it dissipates the vortical perturbations converting them into thermal energy. The Hall effect acts in the opposite way, strongly enhancing the vorticity. When the Hall effect is included, the magnetic field in the simulations becomes, on average, more vertical and long-lived flux tube-like structures are produced. We trace a single magnetic structure to study its evolution pattern and the magnetic field intensification, and their possible relation to the Hall effect.