Professor Steve Tobias

SMT

Professor of Applied Mathematics
Department of Applied Mathematics
University of Leeds

Tel: 0113 343 5172
Email: smt (at) maths.leeds.ac.uk

Magnetic Pumping

Ex Fellow of Trinity College Cambridge
Ex PhD student under supervision of Prof Nigel Weiss

Ex postdoctoral research associate at JILA, University of Colorado, Boulder CO 80309-0440

Research interests

I am primarily interested in astrophysical fluid dynamics and nonlinear phenomena with particular interests in magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). This branch of fluid dynamics involves the study of the interaction of magnetic fields with electrically conducting fluid dynamics and is particularly important in explaining the solar activity cycle.

Research Topics

Dynamo Theory

Generation of magnetic fields in astrophysical objects
Large-scale field generation
The origin of the solar cycle
The saturation of nonlinear dynamos
Inherently nonlinear dynamos
The role of shear in suppressing small-scale dynamos

Direct Statistical Simulation

Driving of Mean Flows.
The Generalised Quasilinear Approximation
Rotating Couette Flow
Wall-bounded shear flows

MHD turbulence

Interactions of magnetic fields with turbulence
Scalings in rapidly rotating magnetoconvection (and relevence to the Earth's interior)

Stability and saturation of jets in shallow water

Jet/shear stability in rotating shallow water magnetohydrodynamics

PV mixing and jet dynamics in rotating MHD shallow water (mpg available) This mpeg shows the evolution of unstable jets in the presence of a weak mean magnetic field at different values of the magnetic diffusivity. As the diffusicity is lowered the PV mixing is inhibited in the jet.

Formation of mean zonal flows

Hydrodynamic evolution of jets in stably stratified domains
The role of magnetic field in jet suppression

Stably stratified turbulence
Magnetic Buoyancy

interaction with shear
role in the solar dynamo

Nonlinear dynamics

Bifurcations in systems with broken reflection symmetry
Convective and Absolute instabilities

This is a colour-coded image of a butterfly diagram for a computer-generated solar dynamo model The model is of a "mean-field" dynamo where the nonlinearity is the back-reaction of the mean magnetic field on the differential rotation.

PUBLICATIONS: Link to Google Scholar for Citation Report

For copies of any of the publications please email me at the address below

Steve Tobias, Applied Maths, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT

Professor Steve Tobias

Professor of Applied Mathematics Department of Applied Mathematics University of Leeds

Research interests

PUBLICATIONS: Link to Google Scholar for Citation Report

For copies of any of the publications please email me at the address below

Professor of Applied Mathematics
Department of Applied Mathematics
University of Leeds