Research topics

A selection of papers on forced flows, dynamos and core–mantle coupling. For the full list, see journal publications.

Elliptical instability in terrestrial planets and moons (2012)
Cébron, Le Bars, Moutou and Le Gal, Astronomy & Astrophysics 539, A78. Tides and libration deform planetary fluid layers and can excite elliptical instability. We examined when this mechanism could operate in terrestrial planets and moons, and what it might mean for their internal flows and dissipation.

Precession and the lunar core (2019)
Cébron et al., Geophysical Journal International 219, S34–S57. We calculated flows and dissipation in precessing spherical shells, then applied the results to the Moon. Comparing the model with lunar conditions puts the precessional dynamo idea to a quantitative test.

Mean zonal flows from mechanical forcing (2021)
Cébron, Vidal, Schaeffer, Borderies and Sauret, Journal of Fluid Mechanics 916, A39. Weak precession, libration or tides can nevertheless generate a persistent zonal flow in a rotating spheroid. The paper works out the role of nonlinear boundary layers in setting up this mean circulation.

Topographic drag at the core–mantle interface (2025)
Monville, Cébron and Jault, Journal of Geophysical Research : Solid Earth 130, e2024JB029770. Rémy Monville led this local study of fluid flow past boundary topography. Pressure, viscous and electromagnetic stresses all contribute to the drag and hence to the torque exchanged between core and mantle.

Semiconvection and planetary dynamos (2025)
Pružina, Cébron and Schaeffer, Astronomy & Astrophysics 703, A135. Paul Pružina and colleagues investigated a fluid layer stabilised by composition but heated from below. Their simulations show that semiconvective motions can sustain a magnetic field, with possible relevance to the interiors of giant planets.

Topographic drag in rapidly rotating fluids (2026)
Giraud, Noir, Cébron, Vidal and Monville, Journal of Fluid Mechanics 1040, A14. Vadim Giraud and colleagues examined flow over finite-slope topography. Inertial waves carry energy away from the boundary and contribute to the drag, adding a mechanism for dissipation and torque in rapidly rotating fluid layers.

Damping of inner-core translation (2026)
Personnettaz, Cébron, Schaeffer, Deguen and Mandea, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 690, 120156. Paolo Personnettaz and colleagues studied how viscosity and electrical currents damp translational oscillations of Earth’s inner core. Their data and code accompany the paper ; the predicted damping matters for attempts to detect these modes.