Magnetoconvection (Q2925386)

This book is written by experts whose personal contribution to the development of magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD) with application in astrophysics is essential. As such, its contents are presented in a clear didactic way which makes the book valuable to a broad spectrum of readers ranging from graduate students to professional researchers in various fields of physics and astrophysics.NEWLINENEWLINEThe text in xi+397 pages is divided into Preface, nine Chapters, four Appendices, References, and Index. Following the introductory issues presented in Chapter 1, the basic elements of MHD including kinematic dynamos are given in Chapter 2. The linearized MHD convection of a Boussinesq fluid is treated in Chapter 3 for vertical and inclined magnetic fields, and for different boundary conditions. Extensions that include weakly nonlinear phenomena are considered in Chapter 4 while Chapter 5 deals with two-dimensional (2D) numerical solutions for the Boussinesq MHD convection. This includes cases in Cartesian geometry, axisymmetric convection, transitions to chaos and instabilities among others. Chapter 6 tackles the full 3D description of numerical results of various aspects of the Boussinesq MHD convection like convective patterns, small scale dynamos, full nonlinear cases, and strong magnetic field regimes. Problems of magnetic convection in rotating systems and dynamo mechanisms in different astrophysical (stellar and planetary) configurations, as well as in laboratories are elaborated in Chapter 7. Extension to compressible MHD convection, including 2D and 3D treatments and effects of inclined magnetic field is performed and analyzed in Chapter 8. The final Chapter 9 is fully devoted to phenomena related to solar and stellar magnetic fields such as global magnetic activity, and the MHD convection in the photosphere and sunspots. Here, the authors also outline the existing numerical models and give remarks on possible future developments in this field. The four Appendices A, B, C and D, contain details of the Boussinesq and anelastic approximations, chaotic systems, double-diffusive convection, and magnetic buoyancy, respectively. At the end, a large list of important literature is given at 25 pages in the References.