Helicity conservation in nonlinear mean-field solar dynamo

Abstract

We explore the impact of magnetic helicity conservation on the mean-field solar dynamo using the axisymmetric dynamo model which includes the subsurface shear. Our results support the recent findings by Hubbard & Brandenburg (2012), who suggested that the catastrophic quenching in the mean-field dynamo is alleviated if conservation of the total magnetic helicity is taken into account. We show that the solar dynamo can operate in the wide rage of the magnetic Reynolds number up to $10^{6}$. We also found that the boundary conditions for the magnetic helicity influence the distribution of the $\alpha$-effect near the solar surface.