Recent Developments in Solar and Planetary Dynamos

K. Petrovay

Eotvos University, Department of Astronomy, Budapest, Hungary

The talk will give an overview of some recent results and controversies in the field of dynamo theory applied to solar system objects. Two issues, in particular, have recently become the focus of attention in the study of both solar and planetary dynamo theory, and will be discussed in some detail:

• The value and radial variation of the effective conductivity in the dynamo region, and its influence on the nature of dynamo solutions.
• The problem of model-based predictions (in the case of the Sun) and parameter scalings (in the case of planets, where dynamo timescales are too long for testable predictions).