Self-generated zonal flows in the plasma turbulence driven by trapped-ion and trapped-electron instabilities

Équipe 107 : Physique des plasmas chaudsInternational audienceThis paper presents a study of zonal flows generated by trapped-electron mode and trapped-ion mode micro turbulence as a function of two plasma parameters-banana width and electron temperature. For this purpose, a gyrokinetic code considering only trapped particles is used. First, an analytical equation giving the predicted level of zonal flows is derived from the quasi-neutrality equation of our model, as a function of the density fluctuation levels and the banana widths. Then, the influence of the banana width on the number of zonal flows occurring in the system is studied using the gyrokinetic code. Finally, the impact of the temperature ratio Te/Ti on the reduction of zonal flows is shown and a close link is highlighted between reduction and different gyro-and-bounce-average ion and electron density fluctuation levels. This reduction is found to be due to the amplitudes of gyro-and-bounce-average density perturbations ne and ni gradually becoming closer, which is in agreement with the analytical results given by the quasi-neutrality equation

Global gyrokinetic simulations of trapped-electron mode and trapped-ion mode microturbulence

Équipe 107 : Physique des plasmas chaudsInternational audienceThis paper presents a reduced kinetic model, which describes simultaneously trapped-ion (TIM) and trapped-electron (TEM) driven modes. Interestingly, the model enables the study of a full f problem for ion and electron trapped particles at very low numerical cost. The linear growth rate obtained with the full f nonlinear code Trapped Element REduction in Semi Lagrangian Approach is successfully compared with analytical predictions. Moreover, nonlinear results show some basic properties of collisionless TEM and TIM turbulence in tokamaks. A competition between streamer-like structures and zonal flows is observed for TEM and TIM turbulence. Zonal flows are shown to play an important role in suppressing the nonlinear transport and strongly depend on the temperature ratio T-e/T-i