title: Mechanisms for magnetic field reversals.
abstract: We present a review of the different models that have been proposed to explain reversals of the magnetic field generated by a turbulent flow of an electrically conducting fluid (fluid dynamos). We then describe a simple mechanism that explains several features observed in palaeomagnetic records of the Earth's magnetic field, in numerical simulations and in a recent dynamo experiment. A similar model can also be used to understand reversals of large-scale flows that often develop on a turbulent background.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique Statistique, CNRS UMR 8550, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 24 rue Lhomond, 75005 Paris, France. petrelis@lps.ens.fr
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pétrélis
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fauve