Massimo Sorella – Friday 6 March 2026

Speaker: Massimo Sorella (Imperial College London)

Title: Alpha unstable flows and the fast dynamo problem

Abstract:

The fast dynamo problem is a fundamental question in MHD concerning the ability of a flow to maintain magnetic fields without their growth being slowed down by resistive effects. In the passive vector equation, a simplified model, this can be formulated as the exponential growth in time of the L^2 norm of the solution under a Lipschitz flow, at a rate independent of resistivity. In this talk, I will present recent results showing subsequent growth for the linear passive vector equation, driven by the so called alpha effect.