Role of phase space structures in collisionless drift wave turbulence and impact on transport modeling

Abstract

In fusion plasmas, several mechanisms such as heating, wave-particle interaction etc can drive deviations of distribution function from Maxwelian to form phase space structures. This article discusses the impact of phase space structures in drift wave turbulence on dynamics and transport modeling. The two cases of (i) coherent holes and (ii) incoherent granulations (clusters of correlated resonant particles with finite life time) are treated. Their dynamical impact on driving subcritical instability is analyzed by explicitly calculating the nonlinear growth rate. The role of zonal flows is also addressed. It is explained how phase space structures can be related to transient events and non-diffusive transport, issues in current confinement research.