Investigating Global Convective Dynamos with Mean-field Models: Full Spectrum of Turbulent Effects Required

The role of turbulent effects for dynamos in the Sun and stars continues to be debated. Mean-field (MF) theory provides a broadly used framework to connect these effects to fundamental magnetohydrodynamics. While inaccessible observationally, turbulent effects can be directly studied using global convective dynamo (GCD) simulations. We measure the turbulent effects in terms of turbulent transport coefficients, based on the MF framework, from an exemplary GCD simulation using the test-field method. These coefficients are then used as an input into an MF model. We find a good agreement between the MF and GCD solutions, which validates our theoretical approach. This agreement requires all turbulent effects to be included, even those which have been regarded as unimportant so far. Our results suggest that simple dynamo models, as are commonly used in the solar and stellar community, relying on very few, precisely fine-tuned turbulent effects, may not be representative of the full dynamics of dynamos in global convective simulations and astronomical objects.

Automated summary

The role of turbulent effects for dynamos in the Sun and stars remains debated, and using global convective dynamo simulations can directly study these effects. Research found a good agreement between MF and GCD solutions when using turbulent transport coefficients as inputs, validating the theoretical approach. This agreement suggests that simple dynamo models commonly used in solar and stellar studies may not fully represent the dynamics of dynamos in global convective simulations and astronomical objects.