The role of zonal flows in the saturation of multi-scale gyrokinetic turbulence

Staebler, G. M.; Candy, J.; Howard, N. T.; Holland, C.

doi:10.1063/1.4954905

The role of zonal flows in the saturation of multi-scale gyrokinetic turbulence

Journal Article · Wed Jun 15 04:00:00 EDT 2016 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4954905· OSTI ID:22598922

Staebler, G. M.; Candy, J. ^[1]; Howard, N. T. ^[2]; Holland, C. ^[3]

General Atomics, San Diego, California 92186 (United States)
Oak Ridge Institute for Science Education (ORISE), Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States)
University of California San Diego, San Diego, California 92093 (United States)

The 2D spectrum of the saturated electric potential from gyrokinetic turbulence simulations that include both ion and electron scales (multi-scale) in axisymmetric tokamak geometry is analyzed. The paradigm that the turbulence is saturated when the zonal (axisymmetic) ExB flow shearing rate competes with linear growth is shown to not apply to the electron scale turbulence. Instead, it is the mixing rate by the zonal ExB velocity spectrum with the turbulent distribution function that competes with linear growth. A model of this mechanism is shown to be able to capture the suppression of electron-scale turbulence by ion-scale turbulence and the threshold for the increase in electron scale turbulence when the ion-scale turbulence is reduced. The model computes the strength of the zonal flow velocity and the saturated potential spectrum from the linear growth rate spectrum. The model for the saturated electric potential spectrum is applied to a quasilinear transport model and shown to accurately reproduce the electron and ion energy fluxes of the non-linear gyrokinetic multi-scale simulations. The zonal flow mixing saturation model is also shown to reproduce the non-linear upshift in the critical temperature gradient caused by zonal flows in ion-scale gyrokinetic simulations.

OSTI ID:: 22598922

Journal Information:: Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 23; ISSN PHPAEN; ISSN 1070-664X

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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