The first part of this talk proposes simple, theoretical scalings of small-scale dynamo properties in the Rayleigh-Taylor and Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities and then tests the predictions with numerical simulations. Although we are motivated by dynamos observed in neutron star merger simulations, fluid instabilities in plasmas are ubiquitous and therefore understanding the efficiency of their dynamo is generally useful. The second half of the talk focuses on small-scale dynamo in stably-stratified turbulence. Stratified turbulence in stellar radiative zones driven by shear instabilities, breaking internal waves, and convective overshoot should conceivably drive small-scale dynamo action due to the high conductivity of stellar plasma. We present investigations into three principle properties of the kinematic small-scale dynamo in stably stratified turbulence–the onset criterion, the growth rate, and the nature of the magnetic field anisotropy. Using our Sun as a representative star, we find that the stratification is strong enough to make the small-scale dynamo marginally active in the solar tachocline for thermal Prandtl number Pr=1.
