  Using a thin flux tube model in a rotating spherical shell of turbulent,
solar-like convective flows, we find that the distribution of emerging flux
tubes in our simulation is inhomogeneous in longitude, with properties similar
to those of active longitudes on the Sun and other solar-like stars. The
large-scale pattern of flux emergence our simulations produce exhibits
preferred longitudinal modes of low order, drift with respect to a fixed
reference system, and alignment across the Equator at low latitudes between 15
degrees. We suggest that these active-longitude-like emergence patterns are the
result of columnar, rotationally aligned giant cells present in our convection
simulation at low latitudes. If giant convecting cells exist in the bulk of the
solar convection zone, this phenomenon, along with differential rotation, could
in part provide an explanation for the behavior of active longitudes.
