Experimental studies of mesoscale structure and its interactions with microscale waves in plasma turbulence

Abstract

The modern view of plasma turbulence has been established due to the discovery of zonal flows and other structures which drift-waves generate, and contributes to exploring new manners of understanding turbulence-driven transport and structural formation in magnetized plasmas and astronomic objects. This paper presents the recent development of laboratory experiments, in particular, for drift-wave turbulence which have advanced understanding and have made the paradigm shift. The topics include the discovery of mesoscale structures, such as zonal flows and streamers, the recent development of analyzing techniques to quantify the couplings between different scale structures and methods to elucidate energy transfer direction, and turbulence transport and barrier formation. Finally, future experiments are suggested for establishing the first-principle laws of turbulence transport and structural formation. © 2011 IOP Publishing Ltd.