Open AccessEddy, drift wave and zonal flow dynamics in a linear magnetized plasma
Author(s) -
Hiroyuki Arakawa,
S. Inagaki,
M. Sasaki,
Y. Kosuga,
Tatsuya Kobayashi,
Naohiro Kasuya,
Yoshihiko Nagashima,
Teppei Yamada,
Maxime Lesur,
A. Fujisawa,
K. Itoh,
Sanae I. Itoh
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
scientific reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.24
H-Index - 213
ISSN - 2045-2322
DOI - 10.1038/srep33371
Subject(s) - physics , turbulence , zonal flow (plasma) , eddy , perturbation (astronomy) , mechanics , classical mechanics , wave turbulence , nonlinear system , turbulence modeling , plasma , tokamak , quantum mechanics
Turbulence and its structure formation are universal in neutral fluids and in plasmas. Turbulence annihilates global structures but can organize flows and eddies. The mutual-interactions between flow and the eddy give basic insights into the understanding of non-equilibrium and nonlinear interaction by turbulence. In fusion plasma, clarifying structure formation by Drift-wave turbulence, driven by density gradients in magnetized plasma, is an important issue. Here, a new mutual-interaction among eddy, drift wave and flow in magnetized plasma is discovered. A two-dimensional solitary eddy, which is a perturbation with circumnavigating motion localized radially and azimuthally, is transiently organized in a drift wave – zonal flow (azimuthally symmetric band-like shear flows) system. The excitation of the eddy is synchronized with zonal perturbation. The organization of the eddy has substantial impact on the acceleration of zonal flow.