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Title: Transport dynamics of self-consistent, near-marginal drift-wave turbulence. II. Characterization of transport by means of passive scalars

Abstract

From theoretical and modeling points of view, following Lagrangian trajectories is the most straightforward way to characterize the transport dynamics. In real plasmas, following Lagrangian trajectories is difficult or impossible. Using a blob of passive scalar (a tracer blob) allows a quasi-Lagrangian view of the dynamics. Using a simple two-dimensional electrostatic plasma turbulence model, this work demonstrates that the evolution of the tracers and the passive scalar field is equivalent between these two fluid transport viewpoints. When both the tracers and the passive scalar evolve in tandem and closely resemble stable distributions, namely, Gaussian distributions, the underlying turbulent transport character can be recovered from the temporal scaling of the second moments of both. This local transport approach corroborates the use of passive scalar as a turbulent transport measurement. The correspondence between the local transport character and the underlying transport is quantified for different transport regimes ranging from subdiffusive to superdiffusive. In conclusion, this correspondence is limited to the initial time periods of the spread of both the tracers and the passive scalar in the given transport regimes

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [2]
  1. Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK (United States)
  2. Univ. Carlos III, Madrid (Spain)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1474293
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1371792
Grant/Contract Number:  
FG02-04ER54741
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Physics of Plasmas
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 24; Journal Issue: 7; Journal ID: ISSN 1070-664X
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY

Citation Formats

Ogata, D., Newman, D. E., and Sánchez, R. Transport dynamics of self-consistent, near-marginal drift-wave turbulence. II. Characterization of transport by means of passive scalars. United States: N. p., 2017. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4993211.
Ogata, D., Newman, D. E., & Sánchez, R. Transport dynamics of self-consistent, near-marginal drift-wave turbulence. II. Characterization of transport by means of passive scalars. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4993211
Ogata, D., Newman, D. E., and Sánchez, R. Tue . "Transport dynamics of self-consistent, near-marginal drift-wave turbulence. II. Characterization of transport by means of passive scalars". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4993211. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1474293.
@article{osti_1474293,
title = {Transport dynamics of self-consistent, near-marginal drift-wave turbulence. II. Characterization of transport by means of passive scalars},
author = {Ogata, D. and Newman, D. E. and Sánchez, R.},
abstractNote = {From theoretical and modeling points of view, following Lagrangian trajectories is the most straightforward way to characterize the transport dynamics. In real plasmas, following Lagrangian trajectories is difficult or impossible. Using a blob of passive scalar (a tracer blob) allows a quasi-Lagrangian view of the dynamics. Using a simple two-dimensional electrostatic plasma turbulence model, this work demonstrates that the evolution of the tracers and the passive scalar field is equivalent between these two fluid transport viewpoints. When both the tracers and the passive scalar evolve in tandem and closely resemble stable distributions, namely, Gaussian distributions, the underlying turbulent transport character can be recovered from the temporal scaling of the second moments of both. This local transport approach corroborates the use of passive scalar as a turbulent transport measurement. The correspondence between the local transport character and the underlying transport is quantified for different transport regimes ranging from subdiffusive to superdiffusive. In conclusion, this correspondence is limited to the initial time periods of the spread of both the tracers and the passive scalar in the given transport regimes},
doi = {10.1063/1.4993211},
journal = {Physics of Plasmas},
number = 7,
volume = 24,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Jul 18 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Tue Jul 18 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}

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