Dr. Santiago Andres Triana vom Astronomischen Institut der Universität Leuven, B

10.7.2013
Inertial waves driven by differential rotation: a laboratory experiment

Abstract:

A 3-meter diameter liquid-metal spherical-Couette flow, composed of a rotating spherical container and a differentially rotating internal core, exhibits a sequence of sharp and strong inertial mode oscillations when the (inner core to outer sphere) rotation rate ratio is less than one or negative. At larger rotation ratios the flow exhibit bi-stable fluctuations. These observations are relevant in an astrophysical context, especially now after the recent discovery of gravito-inertial modes in two different stars. A good understanding of the modes' driving mechanism in the laboratory experiments might be of great help to unveil analogous mechanisms in stars.