Description
Traces of cyclic large-scale magnetic fields are seen at some preferred latitudes in some recent simulations. These seem intimately related to the appearance of large-scale vortices that are in turn affected by the growing magnetic field. Analysis of these simulations reveals that there is no large-scale dynamo, and unlike most previous studies, a small-scale dynamo operates and coexists with the large-scale flows. Spontaneous formation of localized magnetic structures, resembling active regions (ARs) or sunspots, has proved to be more challenging in simulations of turbulent magneto-convection. We will discuss some developments on these topics based on numerical and observational studies.
