The rise of twisted magnetic flux tubes: A high Reynolds number adaptive grid calculation

The rise of buoyant magnetic flux tubes is a problem of some importance in the context of the escape of magnetic field from the solar interior. By emp loying an adaptive grid code, we have been able to study the evolution of t ubes at Reynolds numbers (kinetic and magnetic) considerably in excess of a ny considered in previous studies. The rise of the tube is markedly asymmet ric. It is qualitatively different from that obtained by previous low Reyno lds number simulations or from that predicted by the simple ideas of the th in flux tube approximation.