3,788 research outputs found
Direct multiscale coupling of a transport code to gyrokinetic turbulence codes
Direct coupling between a transport solver and local, nonlinear gyrokinetic
calculations using the multiscale gyrokinetic code TRINITY [M. Barnes, Ph.D.
thesis, arxiv:0901.2868] is described. The coupling of the microscopic and
macroscopic physics is done within the framework of multiscale gyrokinetic
theory, of which we present the assumptions and key results. An assumption of
scale separation in space and time allows for the simulation of turbulence in
small regions of the space-time grid, which are embedded in a coarse grid on
which the transport equations are implicitly evolved. This leads to a reduction
in computational expense of several orders of magnitude, making
first-principles simulations of the full fusion device volume over the
confinement time feasible on current computing resources. Numerical results
from TRINITY simulations are presented and compared with experimental data from
JET and ASDEX Upgrade plasmas.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures, invited paper for 2009 APS-DPP meeting,
submitted to Phys. Plasma
Resonant Excitation of Shear Alfv\'en Perturbations by Trapped Energetic Ions in a Tokamak
A new analytic expression is derived for the resonant drive of high n
Alfvenic modes by particles accelerated to high energy by Ion Cyclotron
Resonance Heating. This derivation includes finite orbit effects, and the
formalism is completely non-perturbative. The high-n limit is used to calculate
the complex particle response integrals along the orbits explicitly. This new
theory is applied to downward sweeping Alfven Cascade quasimodes completing the
theory of these modes, and making testable predictions. These predictions are
found to be consistent with experiments carried out on the Joint European Torus
[P. H. Rebut and B. E. Keen, Fusion Technol. 11, 13 (1987)].Comment: 31 pages, 6 figure
Multiscale Gyrokinetics for Rotating Tokamak Plasmas: Fluctuations, Transport and Energy Flows
This paper presents a complete theoretical framework for plasma turbulence
and transport in tokamak plasmas. The fundamental scale separations present in
plasma turbulence are codified as an asymptotic expansion in the ratio of the
gyroradius to the equilibrium scale length. Proceeding order-by-order in this
expansion, a framework for plasma turbulence is developed. It comprises an
instantaneous equilibrium, the fluctuations driven by gradients in the
equilibrium quantities, and the transport-timescale evolution of mean profiles
of these quantities driven by the fluctuations. The equilibrium distribution
functions are local Maxwellians with each flux surface rotating toroidally as a
rigid body. The magnetic equillibrium is obtained from the Grad-Shafranov
equation for a rotating plasma and the slow (resistive) evolution of the
magnetic field is given by an evolution equation for the safety factor q.
Large-scale deviations of the distribution function from a Maxwellian are given
by neoclassical theory. The fluctuations are determined by the high-flow
gyrokinetic equation, from which we derive the governing principle for
gyrokinetic turbulence in tokamaks: the conservation and local cascade of free
energy. Transport equations for the evolution of the mean density, temperature
and flow velocity profiles are derived. These transport equations show how the
neoclassical corrections and the fluctuations act back upon the mean profiles
through fluxes and heating. The energy and entropy conservation laws for the
mean profiles are derived. Total energy is conserved and there is no net
turbulent heating. Entropy is produced by the action of fluxes flattening
gradients, Ohmic heating, and the equilibration of mean temperatures. Finally,
this framework is condensed, in the low-Mach-number limit, to a concise set of
equations suitable for numerical implementation.Comment: 113 pages, 3 figure
Experimental Signatures of Critically Balanced Turbulence in MAST
Beam Emission Spectroscopy (BES) measurements of ion-scale density
fluctuations in the MAST tokamak are used to show that the turbulence
correlation time, the drift time associated with ion temperature or density
gradients, the particle (ion) streaming time along the magnetic field and the
magnetic drift time are consistently comparable, suggesting a "critically
balanced" turbulence determined by the local equilibrium. The resulting
scalings of the poloidal and radial correlation lengths are derived and tested.
The nonlinear time inferred from the density fluctuations is longer than the
other times; its ratio to the correlation time scales as
, where ion collision rate/streaming rate.
This is consistent with turbulent decorrelation being controlled by a zonal
component, invisible to the BES, with an amplitude exceeding the drift waves'
by .Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PR
Noncommutativity from the string perspective: modification of gravity at a mm without mm sized extra dimensions
We explore how the IR pathologies of noncommutative field theory are resolved
when the theory is realized as open strings in background B-fields:
essentially, since the IR singularities are induced by UV/IR mixing, string
theory brings them under control in much the same way as it does the UV
singularities. We show that at intermediate scales (where the Seiberg-Witten
limit is a good approximation) the theory reproduces the noncommutative field
theory with all the (un)usual features such as UV/IR mixing, but that outside
this regime, in the deep infra-red, the theory flows continuously to the
commutative theory and normal Wilsonian behaviour is restored. The resulting
low energy physics resembles normal commutative physics, but with additional
suppressed Lorentz violating operators. We also show that the phenomenon of
UV/IR mixing occurs for the graviton as well, with the result that, in
configurations where Planck's constant receives a significant one-loop
correction (for example brane-induced gravity), the distance scale below which
gravity becomes non-Newtonian can be much greater than any compact dimensions.Comment: 30 pages. Slight revision: clarified some points and added a
referenc
Continuous distribution of frequencies and deformed dispersion relations
The possibilities that, in the realm of the detection of the so--called
deformed dispersion relation, a light source with a continuous distribution of
frequencies offers is discussed. It will be proved that the presence of finite
coherence length entails the emergence of a new term in the interference
pattern. This is a novel trait, which renders a new possibility in the quest
for bounds associated with these deformed dispersion relations.Comment: Accepted in Classical and Quantum Gravit
Considering Fluctuation Energy as a Measure of Gyrokinetic Turbulence
In gyrokinetic theory there are two quadratic measures of fluctuation energy,
left invariant under nonlinear interactions, that constrain the turbulence. The
recent work of Plunk and Tatsuno [Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 165003 (2011)] reported
on the novel consequences that this constraint has on the direction and
locality of spectral energy transfer. This paper builds on that work. We
provide detailed analysis in support of the results of Plunk and Tatsuno but
also significantly broaden the scope and use additional methods to address the
problem of energy transfer. The perspective taken here is that the fluctuation
energies are not merely formal invariants of an idealized model
(two-dimensional gyrokinetics) but are general measures of gyrokinetic
turbulence, i.e. quantities that can be used to predict the behavior of the
turbulence. Though many open questions remain, this paper collects evidence in
favor of this perspective by demonstrating in several contexts that constrained
spectral energy transfer governs the dynamics.Comment: Final version as published. Some cosmetic changes and update of
reference
Additive Nonparametric Reconstruction of Dynamical Systems from Time Series
We present a nonparametric way to retrieve a system of differential equations
in embedding space from a single time series. These equations can be treated
with dynamical systems theory and allow for long term predictions. We
demonstrate the potential of our approach for a modified chaotic Chua
oscillator.Comment: accepted for Phys. Rev. E, Rapid Com
Flame Enhancement and Quenching in Fluid Flows
We perform direct numerical simulations (DNS) of an advected scalar field
which diffuses and reacts according to a nonlinear reaction law. The objective
is to study how the bulk burning rate of the reaction is affected by an imposed
flow. In particular, we are interested in comparing the numerical results with
recently predicted analytical upper and lower bounds. We focus on reaction
enhancement and quenching phenomena for two classes of imposed model flows with
different geometries: periodic shear flow and cellular flow. We are primarily
interested in the fast advection regime. We find that the bulk burning rate v
in a shear flow satisfies v ~ a*U+b where U is the typical flow velocity and a
is a constant depending on the relationship between the oscillation length
scale of the flow and laminar front thickness. For cellular flow, we obtain v ~
U^{1/4}. We also study flame extinction (quenching) for an ignition-type
reaction law and compactly supported initial data for the scalar field. We find
that in a shear flow the flame of the size W can be typically quenched by a
flow with amplitude U ~ alpha*W. The constant alpha depends on the geometry of
the flow and tends to infinity if the flow profile has a plateau larger than a
critical size. In a cellular flow, we find that the advection strength required
for quenching is U ~ W^4 if the cell size is smaller than a critical value.Comment: 14 pages, 20 figures, revtex4, submitted to Combustion Theory and
Modellin
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