Large-Eddy Simulations of Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence in Heliophysics and Astrophysics

We live in an age in which high-performance computing is transforming the way we do science. Previously intractable problems are now becoming accessible by means of increasingly realistic numerical simulations. One of the most enduring and most challenging of these problems is turbulence. Yet, despite these advances, the extreme parameter regimes encountered in space physics and astrophysics (as in atmospheric and oceanic physics) still preclude direct numerical simulation. Numerical models must take a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) approach, explicitly computing only a fraction of the active dynamical scales. The success of such an approach hinges on how well the model can represent the subgrid-scales (SGS) that are not explicitly resolved. In addition to the parameter regime, heliophysical and astrophysical applications must also face an equally daunting challenge: magnetism. The presence of magnetic fields in a turbulent, electrically conducting fluid flow can dramatically alter the coupling between large and small scales, with potentially profound implications for LES/SGS modeling. In this review article, we summarize the state of the art in LES modeling of turbulent magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) ows. After discussing the nature of MHD turbulence and the small-scale processes that give rise to energy dissipation, plasma heating, and magnetic reconnection, we consider how these processes may best be captured within an LES/SGS framework. We then consider several special applications in heliophysics and astrophysics, assessing triumphs, challenges,and future directions

Benchmarking Nonlinear Turbulence Simulations on Alcator C-Mod

Linear simulations of plasma microturbulence are used with recent radial profiles of toroidal velocity from similar plasmas to consider nonlinear microturbulence simulations and observed transport analysis on Alcator C-Mod. We focus on internal transport barrier (ITB) formation in fully equilibrated H-mode plasmas with nearly flat velocity profiles. Velocity profile data, transport analysis and linear growth rates are combined to integrate data and simulation, and explore the effects of toroidal velocity on benchmarking simulations. Areas of interest for future nonlinear simulations are identified. A good gyrokinetic benchmark is found in the plasma core, without extensive nonlinear simulations. RF-heated C-Mod H-mode experiments, which exhibit an ITB, have been studied with the massively parallel code GS2 towards validation of gyrokinetic microturbulence models. New, linear, gyrokinetic calculations are reported and discussed in connection with transport analysis near the ITB trigger time of shot No.1001220016

Collisionality scaling of main-ion toroidal and poloidal rotation in low torque DIII-D plasmas

In tokamak plasmas with low levels of toroidal rotation, the radial electric fi eld Er is a combination of pressure gradient and toroidal and poloidal rotation components, all having similar magnitudes. In order to assess the validity of neoclassical poloidal rotation theory for determining the poloidal rotation contribution to Er , Dα emission from neutral beam heated tokamak discharges in DIII-D [J.L. Luxon, Nucl. Fusion 42 , 614 (2002)] has been evaluated in a sequence of low torque (electron cyclotron resonance heating and balanced diagnostic neutral beam pulse) discharges to determine the local deuterium toroidal rotation velocity. By invoking the radial force balance relation the deuterium poloidal rotation can be inferred. It is found that the deuterium poloidal low exceeds the neoclassical value in plasmas with collisionality #23;#3; νi < 0: 1, being more ion diamagnetic, and with a stronger dependence on collisionality than neoclassical theory predicts. At low toroidal rotation, the poloidal rotation contribution to the radial electric fi eld and its shear is signi cant. The eff ect of anomalous levels of poloidal rotation on the radial electric fi eld and cross fi eld heat transport is investigated for ITER parameters

Progress in simulating turbulent electron thermal transport in NSTX

Nonlinear simulations based on multiple NSTX discharge scenarios have progressed to help differentiate unique instability mechanisms and to validate with experimental turbulence and transport data. First nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations of microtearing (MT) turbulence in a high-beta NSTX H-mode discharge predict experimental levels of electron thermal transport that are dominated by magnetic flutter and increase with collisionality, roughly consistent with energy confinement times in dimensionless collisionality scaling experiments. Electron temperature gradient (ETG) simulations predict significant electron thermal transport in some low and high beta discharges when ion scales are suppressed by E x B shear. Although the predicted transport in H-modes is insensitive to variation in collisionality (inconsistent with confinement scaling), it is sensitive to variations in other parameters, particularly density gradient stabilization. In reversed shear (RS) Lmode discharges that exhibit electron internal transport barriers, ETG transport has also been shown to be suppressed nonlinearly by strong negative magnetic shear, s<<0. In many high beta plasmas, instabilities which exhibit a stiff beta dependence characteristic of kinetic ballooning modes (KBM) are sometimes found in the core region. However, they do not have a distinct finite beta threshold, instead transitioning gradually to a trapped electron mode (TEM) as beta is reduced to zero. Nonlinear simulations of this "hybrid" TEM/KBM predict significant transport in all channels, with substantial contributions from compressional magnetic perturbations. As multiple instabilities are often unstable simultaneously in the same plasma discharge, even on the same flux surface, unique parametric dependencies are discussed which may be useful for distinguishing the different mechanisms experimentally