Convection in an imposed magnetic field. Part 2. The dynamical regime

Nonlinear, two-dimensional magnetoconvection has been investigated numerically for a fixed Rayleigh number of 10 4 , with the ratio ζ of the magnetic to the thermal diffusivity in the range 0·4 ≥ ζ ≥ 0·05. As the Chandrasekhar number Q is decreased, convection first sets in as overstable oscillations, which are succeeded by steady convection with dynamically active flux sheets and, eventually, with kinematically concentrated fields. In the dynamical regime spatially asymmetrical convection, with most of the flux on one side of the cell, is preferred. As Q increases, these asymmetrical solutions become time-dependent, with oscillations about the steady state which develop into large-scale oscillations with reversals of the flow. Although linear theory predicts that narrow cells should be most unstable, the nonlinear results show that steady convection occurs most easily in cells that are roughly twice as wide as they are deep.