Wave-kinetic approach to zonal-flow dynamics: recent advances

Dataset · Thu Feb 18 23:00:00 EST 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.11578/1814951· OSTI ID:1814951

Zhu, Hongxuan ^[1]; Dodin, I Y

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1. Princeton University (PPPL)

Basic physics of drift-wave turbulence and zonal flows has long been studied within the framework of wave-kinetic theory. Recently, this framework has been re-examined from first principles, which has led to more accurate yet still tractable "improved" wave-kinetic equations. In particular, these equations reveal an important effect of the zonal-flow "curvature" (the second radial derivative of the flow velocity) on dynamics and stability of drift waves and zonal flows. We overview these recent findings and present a consolidated high-level picture of (mostly quasilinear) zonal-flow physics within reduced models of drift-wave turbulence.

• Research Organization: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-09CH11466
• OSTI ID: 1814951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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