Meridional circulation in solar and stellar convection zones

These simulations have been constructed so as to span the transition between solar-like differential rotation (DR; fast equator/slow poles) and "anti-solar" DR (slow equator/fast poles).

Solar-like states of DR, which arise when convection is rotationally constrained, are characterized by a very different convective Reynolds stress (RS) than anti-solar regimes, wherein convection only weakly senses the Coriolis force. We find that the angular momentum transport by convective RS plays a central role in establishing the meridional flow profiles in these simulations. We find that the transition from single-celled to multi-celled MC profiles in strong and weak regimes of rotational constraint is linked to a change in the convective RS, which is a clear demonstration of gyroscopic pumping.