The Sun's differential rotation is controlled by high-latitude baroclinically unstable inertial modes

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Bekki, Yuto, Cameron, Robert H., Gizon, Laurent
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Bekki, Yuto
Cameron, Robert H.
Gizon, Laurent
author_facet Bekki, Yuto
Cameron, Robert H.
Gizon, Laurent
contents Rapidly rotating fluids have a rotation profile which depends only on the distance from the rotation axis, in accordance with the Taylor-Proudman theorem. Although the Sun was expected to be such a body, helioseismology showed that the rotation rate in the convection zone is closer to constant on radii. It has been postulated that this deviation is due to the poles being warmer than the equator by a few degrees. Using numerical simulations, we show that the pole-to-equator temperature difference cannot exceed 7 Kelvin as a result of the back-reaction of the high-latitude baroclinically unstable inertial modes. The observed amplitudes of the modes further indicate that this maximum temperature difference is reached in the Sun. We conclude that the Sun's latitudinal differential rotation reaches its maximum allowed value.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_18986
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Sun's differential rotation is controlled by high-latitude baroclinically unstable inertial modes
Bekki, Yuto
Cameron, Robert H.
Gizon, Laurent
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Fluid Dynamics
Rapidly rotating fluids have a rotation profile which depends only on the distance from the rotation axis, in accordance with the Taylor-Proudman theorem. Although the Sun was expected to be such a body, helioseismology showed that the rotation rate in the convection zone is closer to constant on radii. It has been postulated that this deviation is due to the poles being warmer than the equator by a few degrees. Using numerical simulations, we show that the pole-to-equator temperature difference cannot exceed 7 Kelvin as a result of the back-reaction of the high-latitude baroclinically unstable inertial modes. The observed amplitudes of the modes further indicate that this maximum temperature difference is reached in the Sun. We conclude that the Sun's latitudinal differential rotation reaches its maximum allowed value.
title The Sun's differential rotation is controlled by high-latitude baroclinically unstable inertial modes
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Fluid Dynamics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.18986