Convective overstability in accretion disks: 3D linear analysis and nonlinear saturation

Recently, Klahr & Hubbard (2014) claimed that a hydrodynamical linear overstability exists in protoplanetary disks, powered by buoyancy in the presence of thermal relaxation. We analyse this claim, confirming it through rigorous compressible linear analysis. We model the system numerically, reproducing the linear growth rate for all cases studied. We also study the saturated properties of the overstability in the shearing box, finding that the saturated state produces finite amplitude fluctuations strong enough to trigger the subcritical baroclinic instability. Saturation leads to a fast burst of enstrophy in the box, and a large-scale vortex develops in the course of the next $\approx$100 orbits. The amount of angular momentum transport achieved is of the order of $\alpha \approx 10^{-3}$, as in compressible SBI models. For the first time, a self-sustained 3D vortex is produced from linear amplitude perturbation of a quiescent base state.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. ApJ, accepte

On the connection between the magneto-elliptic and magneto-rotational instabilities

It has been recently suggested that the magneto-rotational instability (MRI) is a limiting case of the magneto-elliptic instability (MEI). This limit is obtained for horizontal modes in the presence of rotation and an external vertical magnetic field, when the aspect ratio of the elliptic streamlines tends to infinite. In this paper we unveil the link between these previously unconnected mechanisms, explaining both the MEI and the MRI as different manifestations of the same Magneto-Elliptic-Rotational Instability (MERI). The growth rates are found and the influence of the magnetic and rotational effects is explained, in particular the effect of the magnetic field on the range of negative Rossby numbers at which the horizontal instability is excited. Furthermore, we show how the horizontal rotational MEI in the rotating shear flow limit links to the MRI by the use of the local shearing box model, typically used in the study of accretion discs. In such limit the growth rates of the two instability types coincide for any power-type background angular velocity radial profile with negative exponent corresponding to the value of the Rossby number of the rotating shear flow. The MRI requirement for instability is that the background angular velocity profile is a decreasing function of the distance from the centre of the disk which corresponds to the horizontal rotational MEI requirement of negative Rossby numbers. Finally a physical interpretation of the horizontal instability, based on a balance between the strain, the Lorentz force and the Coriolis force is given.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in the Journal of Fluid Mechanic

Circular-like Maps: Sensitivity to the Initial Conditions, Multifractality and Nonextensivity

We generalize herein the usual circular map by considering inflexions of arbitrary power $z$, and verify that the scaling law which has been recently proposed [Lyra and Tsallis, Phys.Rev.Lett. 80 (1998) 53] holds for a large range of $z$. Since, for this family of maps, the Hausdorff dimension $d_f$ equals unity for all $z$ values in contrast with the nonextensivity parameter $q$ which does depend on $z$, it becomes clear that $d_f$ plays no major role in the sensitivity to the initial conditions.Comment: 15 pages (revtex), 8 fig