Energy pathways in large- and small-scale convection-driven dynamos

We investigate the energy pathways between the velocity and the magnetic ﬁelds in a rotating plane layer dynamo driven by Rayleigh-Bénard convection using direct numerical simulations. The kinetic and magnetic energies are divided into mean and turbulent components to study the production, transport, and dissipation associated with large and small-scale dynamos. This energy balance-based characterization reveals distinct mechanisms for large-and small-scale magnetic ﬁeld generation in dynamos, depending on the nature of the velocity ﬁeld and the conditions imposed at the boundaries.