Recent experiments have shown that it is possible to study a fundamental
astrophysical process such as dynamo action in controlled laboratory conditions
using simple MHD flows. In this paper we explore the possibility that
Taylor-Couette flow, already proposed as a model of the magneto-rotational
instability of accretion discs, can sustain generation of magnetic field.
Firstly, by solving the kinematic dynamo problem, we identify the region of
parameter space where the magnetic field's growth rate is higher. Secondly, by
solving simultaneously the coupled nonlinear equations which govern velocity
field and magnetic field, we find a self-consistent nonlinearly saturated
dynamo.Comment: 5 pages, 11 figures. To appear in Astron. Astrophy