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We discuss the effect of different types of fluctuations on dynamos generated in the limit of scale separation. We first recall that the magnetic field observed in the VKS (von Karman flow of liquid sodium) experiment is not the one that would be generated by the mean flow alone and that smaller scale turbulent fluctuations therefore play an important role. We then consider how velocity fluctuations affect the dynamo threshold in the framework of mean-field magnetohydrodynamics. We show that the detrimental effect of turbulent fluctuations observed with many flows disappears in the case of helical flows with scale separation. We also find that fluctuations of the electrical conductivity of the fluid, for instance related to temperature fluctuations in convective flows, provide an efficient mechanism for dynamo action. Finally, we conclude by describing an experimental configuration that could be used to test the validity of mean-field magnetohydrodynamics in strongly turbulent flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the experimental observation of low frequency fluctuations with a spectrum varying as $$1/f^{\alpha }$$ in three different turbulent flow configurations: the large scale velocity driven by a two-dimensional turbulent flow, the magnetic field generated by a turbulent swirling flow of liquid sodium and the pressure fluctuations due to vorticity filaments in a swirling flow. For these three systems, $$1/f^{\alpha }$$ noise is shown to result from the dynamics of coherent structures that display transitions between a small number of states. The interevent duration is distributed as a power law. The exponent of this power law and the nature of the dynamics (transition between symmetric states or asymmetric ones) select the exponent $$\alpha $$ of the $$1/f^{\alpha }$$ fluctuations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We measure the decay rates of magnetic field modes in a turbulent flow of liquid sodium below the dynamo threshold. We observe that turbulent fluctuations induce energy transfers between modes with different symmetries (dipolar and quadrupolar). Using symmetry properties, we show how to measure the decay rate of each mode with-out being restricted to the one with the smallest damping rate. We observe that the respective values of the decay rates of these modes depend on the shape of the propellers driving the flow. Dynamical regimes, including field re-versals, are observed only when the modes are both nearly marginal. This is in line with a recently proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]