Galactic dynamos with captured magnetic flux and an accretion flow

¹ Department of Mathematics, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
² Department of Mathematics, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK

Corresponding author: D. Moss, moss@ma.man.ac.uk

Received: 15 December 2000
Accepted: 2 April 2001

Abstract

We examine the behaviour of an axisymmetric galactic dynamo model with a radial accretion flow in the disc. We also introduce a vertical magnetic flux through the galactic midplane, to simulate the presence of a large scale magnetic field trapped by the galaxy when forming. The trapped vertical flux is conserved and advected towards the disc centre by the radial flow. We confirm that accretion flows of magnitude several km s^-1 through a significant part of the galactic disc can markedly inhibit dynamo action. Moreover, advection of the vertical flux in general results in mixed parity galactic fields. However, the effect is nonlinear and non-additive -global magnetic field energies are usually significantly smaller that the sum of purely dynamo generated and purely advected field energies. For large inflow speeds, a form of "semi-dynamo" action may occur. We apply our results to the accumulation and redistribution, by a radial inflow, of a vertical magnetic flux captured by the Galactic disc. Taking representative values, it appears difficult to obtain mean vertical fields near the centre of the Milky Way that are much in excess of , largely because the galactic dynamo and turbulent magnetic diffusion modify the external magnetic field before it can reach the disc centre.