  The current-driven, kink-type Tayler instability (TI) is a key ingredient of
the Tayler-Spruit dynamo model for the generation of stellar magnetic fields,
but is also discussed as a mechanism that might hamper the up-scaling of liquid
metal batteries. Under some circumstances, the TI involves a helical flow
pattern which goes along with some alpha effect. Here we focus on the chiral
symmetry breaking and the related impact on the alpha effect that would be
needed to close the dynamo loop in the Tayler-Spruit model. For low magnetic
Prandtl numbers, we observe intrinsic oscillations of the alpha effect. These
oscillations serve then as the basis for a synchronized Tayler-Spruit dynamo
model, which could possibly link the periodic tidal forces of planets with the
oscillation periods of stellar dynamos.
