RESUMEN
Large scale transport events are studied in simulations of resistive ballooning turbulence in a tokamak plasma. The spatial structure of the turbulent flux is analyzed, indicating radially elongated structures (streamers) at the low field side which are distorted by magnetic shear at different toroidal positions. The interplay between self-generated zonal flows and transport events is investigated, resulting in significant modifications of the frequency and the amplitude of bursts. The propagation of bursts is studied in the presence of a transport barrier generated by a strong shear flow.
RESUMEN
The Burgers' model of compressible fluid dynamics in one dimension is extended to include the effects of pressure back-reaction. The system consists of two coupled equations: Burgers' equation with a pressure gradient (essentially the one-dimensional Navier-Stokes equation) and an advection-diffusion equation for the pressure field. It presents a minimal model of both adiabatic gas dynamics and compressible magnetohydrodynamics. From the magnetic perspective, it is the simplest possible system which allows for "Alfvenization," i. e., energy transfer between the fluid and magnetic field excitations. For the special case of equal fluid viscosity and (magnetic) diffusivity, the system is completely integrable, reducing to two decoupled Burgers' equations in the characteristic variables v+/-v(sound) (v+/-v(Alfven)). For arbitrary diffusivities, renormalized perturbation theory is used to calculate the effective transport coefficients for forced "Burgerlence." It is shown that energy equidissipation, not equipartition, is fundamental to the turbulent state. Both energy and dissipation are localized to shocklike structures, in which wave steepening is inhibited by small-scale forcing and by pressure back reaction. The spectral forms predicted by theory are confirmed by numerical simulations.
RESUMEN
Zonal flows are azimuthally symmetric plasma potential perturbations spontaneously generated from small-scale drift-wave fluctuations via the action of Reynolds stresses. We show that, after initial linear growth, zonal flows can undergo further nonlinear evolution leading to the formation of long-lived coherent structures which consist of self-bound wave packets supporting stationary shear layers. Such coherent zonal flow structures constitute dynamical paradigms for intermittency in drift-wave turbulence that manifests itself by the intermittent distribution of regions with a reduced level of anomalous transport.
RESUMEN
We show that the modulational instability growth rate of zonal flows is determined directly from the quasilinear wave kinetic equation. We also demonstrate the relation between zonal-flow growth and the cross bispectrum of the high-frequency drift-wave-driven Reynolds stress and the low-frequency plasma potential by explicit calculation. Experimental measurements of the spatiotemporal evolution of the spectrum integrated bicoherence at the L-->H transition near the edge shear layer indicate a modification in the nonlinear phase coupling, which might be linked to the generation of sheared ExB flows.
RESUMEN
There are two distinct regimes of the first-order Fermi acceleration of shocks. The first is a linear (test-particle) regime in which most of the shock energy goes into thermal and bulk motions of the plasma. The second is an efficient regime in which the shock energy goes into accelerated particles. Although the transition region between them is narrow, we identify the factors that drive the system toward a self-organized critical state between those two regimes. Using an analytic solution, we determine this critical state and calculate the spectra and maximum energy of accelerated particles.
