Properties of high-β microturbulence and the non-zonal transition

Journal Article · Tue Oct 15 00:00:00 EDT 2013 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4823717· OSTI ID:22218516

Pueschel, M. J.; Terry, P. W. ^[1]; Hatch, D. R. ^[2]; Görler, T.; Jenko, F.; Told, D. ^[2]; Nevins, W. M. ^[3]

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1. Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (United States)
2. Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, EURATOM Association, D-85748 Garching (Germany)
3. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94551 (United States)

The physics underlying the non-zonal transition [M. J. Pueschel et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 155005 (2013)] are explored in detail, and various studies are presented which support the theory that critically weakened zonal flows are indeed responsible for the failure of ion-temperature-gradient-driven turbulence at high plasma β to saturate at typical transport values. Regarding flux-surface-breaking magnetic fluctuations and their impact on zonal flows, numerical approaches to obtaining zonal flow residuals are elaborated on, and simulation results are shown to agree with analytical predictions, corroborating the interpretation that flux-surface-breaking magnetic fluctuations cause the transition. Consistently, the zonal-flows-related energetics of the turbulence are found to change fundamentally when exceeding the threshold.

• OSTI ID: 22218516
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 20, Issue 10; Other Information: (c) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
CHARGED-PARTICLE TRANSPORT
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
FLUCTUATIONS
ION TEMPERATURE
MAGNETIC SURFACES
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
PLASMA
PLASMA SIMULATION
TEMPERATURE GRADIENTS
TURBULENCE