A trio of simple optimized axisymmetric kinematic dynamos in a sphere.

Planetary magnetic fields are generated by the motion of conductive fluid in the planet's interior. Complex flows are not required for dynamo action; simple flows have been shown to act as efficient kinematic dynamos, whose physical characteristics are more straightforward to study. Recently, Chen et al. (2018, J. Fluid Mech. 839, 1-32. (doi:10.1017/jfm.2017.924)) found the optimal, unconstrained kinematic dynamo in a sphere, which, despite being of theoretical importance, is of limited practical use. We extend their work by restricting the optimization to three simple two-mode axisymmetric flows based on the kinematic dynamos of Dudley & James (1989, Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 425, 407-429. (doi:10.1098/rspa.1989.0112)). Using a Lagrangian optimization, we find the smallest critical magnetic Reynolds number for each flow type, measured using an enstrophy-based norm. A Galerkin method is used, in which the spectral coefficients of the fluid flow and magnetic field are updated in order to maximize the final magnetic energy. We consider the t 0 1 s 0 1, t 0 1 s 0 2 and t 0 2 s 0 2 flows and find enstrophy-based critical magnetic Reynolds numbers of 107.7, 142.4 and 125.5 (13.7, 19.6 and 16.4, respectively, with the energy-based definition). These are up to four times smaller than the original flows. These simple and efficient flows may be used as benchmarks in future studies.