UC Santa Cruz

According to helioseismic inversions, the Sun exhibits two different rotational regimes. The inner radiative region rotates almost uniformly whereas the outer convection zone rotates differentially with the rotation rate decreasing with latitude. The transition region, which is located in the vicinity of the radiative-convective interface, is a very thin layer known as the solar tachocline. Both hydrodynamical and magnetohydrodynamical theories have been proposed to explain such a sharp rotational transition. This thesis presents and analyzes numerical simulations of the solar tachocline that explain the rotational regimes of the interior of the Sun as the result of the interaction between fluid in motion and magnetic fields.