Nonlinear saturation of the slab ITG instability and zonal flow generation with fully kinetic ions
- Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
- Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
Fully kinetic turbulence models are of interest for their potential to validate or replace gyrokinetic models in plasma regimes where the gyrokinetic expansion parameters are marginal. Here, we demonstrate fully kinetic ion capability by simulating the growth and nonlinear saturation of the ion-temperature-gradient instability in shearless slab geometry assuming adiabatic electrons and including zonal flow dynamics. The ion trajectories are integrated using the Lorentz force, and the cyclotron motion is fully resolved. Linear growth and nonlinear saturation characteristics show excellent agreement with analogous gyrokinetic simulations across a wide range of parameters. The fully kinetic simulation accurately reproduces the nonlinearly generated zonal flow. In conclusion, this work demonstrates nonlinear capability, resolution of weak gradient drive, and zonal flow physics, which are critical aspects of modeling plasma turbulence with full ion dynamics.
- Research Organization:
- Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- FG02-08ER54954; SC000801
- OSTI ID:
- 1473697
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1425247
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 25, Issue 5; ISSN 1070-664X
- Publisher:
- American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
A massively parallel semi-Lagrangian solver for the six-dimensional Vlasov–Poisson equation
|
journal | January 2019 |
A massively parallel semi-Lagrangian solver for the six-dimensional Vlasov-Poisson equation | text | January 2019 |
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