TURBULENT DYNAMOS WITH SHEAR AND FRACTIONAL HELICITY

Dynamo action owing to helically forced turbulence and large-scale shear is studied using direct numerical simulations. The resulting magnetic field displays propagating wave-like behavior. This behavior can be modeled in terms of an alpha Omega dynamo. In most cases super-equipartition fields are generated. By varying the fraction of helicity of the turbulence the regeneration of poloidal fields via the helicity effect (corresponding to the alpha-effect) is regulated. The saturation level of the magnetic field in the numerical models is consistent with a linear dependence on the ratio of the fractional helicities of the small and large-scale fields, as predicted by a simple nonlinear mean-field model. As the magnetic Reynolds number (Re(M)) based on the wavenumber of the energy-carrying eddies is increased from 1 to 180, the cycle frequency of the large-scale field is found to decrease by a factor of about 6 in cases where the turbulence is fully helical. This is interpreted in terms of the turbulent magnetic diffusivity, which is found to be only weakly dependent on the Re M