Thermomagnetic convection in a ferrofluid layer exposed to a time-periodic magnetic field.

We have investigated the influence of a time-periodic and spatially homogeneous magnetic field on the linear stability properties and on the nonlinear response of a ferrofluid layer heated from below and from above. A competition between stabilizing thermal and viscous diffusion and destabilizing buoyancy and Kelvin forces occurs. Floquet theory is used to determine the stability boundaries of the motionless conductive state for a harmonic and subharmonic response. Full numerical simulations with a finite difference method were made to obtain nonlinear convective states. The effect of low- and high-frequency modulation on the stability boundaries as well as on the nonlinear oscillations that may occur is investigated.