What is a large-scale dynamo?

We consider kinematic dynamo action in a sheared helical flow at moderate to high values of the magnetic Reynolds number (Rm). We find exponentially growing solutions which, for large enough shear, take the form of a coherent part embedded in incoherent fluctuations. We argue that at large Rm large-scale dynamo action should be identified by the presence of structures coherent in time, rather than those at large spatial scales. We further argue that although the growth rate is determined by small-scale processes, the period of the coherent structures is set by mean-field considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]