There is a minor operator misprint to resolve first. Interpreting as composition, the Cartesian formula for the angular Laplacian is
The last term is missing from the printed Cartesian expression. For example, its truncated expression maps to , whereas a degree-one spherical harmonic must have angular eigenvalue two. In what follows, use the stated angular spectrum and the supplied poloidal-energy identity; these are consistent with the corrected operator.
The divergence theorem and the solenoidal magnetic-field constraint imply zero magnetic flux through every sphere. Consequently has zero angular mean and no component. Expand in orthonormal spherical harmonics:
By angular orthogonality, with
the gradient norm and the supplied poloidal-toroidal decomposition identity become
Since , this proves the poloidal magnetic energy bound by the radial scalar gradient:
Equality holds when the radial scalar contains only degree-one angular components.
Define the poloidal and total magnetic energies by and . Combining the radial-flow dynamo energy bound with gives the necessary condition
It has the same temporal interpretation as the bound in the preceding part; statistically steady versions use the corresponding time-averaged energies. It quantifies why dynamo action with a substantial poloidal fraction requires radial motion, while a purely tangential flow has .