34 research outputs found
Modulation instability and capillary wave turbulence
Formation of turbulence of capillary waves is studied in laboratory
experiments. The spectra show multiple exponentially decreasing harmonics of
the parametrically excited wave which nonlinearly broaden with the increase in
forcing. Spectral broadening leads to the development of the spectral continuum
which scales as , in agreement with the weak turbulence
theory (WTT) prediction. Modulation instability of capillary waves is shown to
be responsible for the transition from discrete to broadband spectrum. The
instability leads to spectral broadening of the harmonics, randomization of
their phases, it isolates the wave field from the wall, eventually allows the
transition from 4- to 3-wave interactions as the dominant nonlinear process,
thus creating the prerequisites assumed in WTT.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
Capillary rogue waves
We report the first observation of extreme wave events (rogue waves) in
parametrically driven capillary waves. Rogue waves are observed above a certain
threshold in forcing. Above this threshold, frequency spectra broaden and
develop exponential tails. For the first time we present evidence of strong
four-wave coupling in non-linear waves (high tricoherence), which points to
modulation instability as the main mechanism in rogue waves. The generation of
rogue waves is identified as the onset of a distinct tail in the probability
density function of the wave heights. Their probability is higher than expected
from the measured wave background.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Three-dimensional fluid motion in Faraday waves: creation of vorticity and generation of two-dimensional turbulence
We study the generation of 2D turbulence in Faraday waves by investigating
the creation of spatially periodic vortices in this system. Measurements which
couple a diffusing light imaging technique and particle tracking algorithms
allow the simultaneous observation of the three-dimensional fluid motion and of
the temporal changes in the wave field topography. Quasi-standing waves are
found to coexist with a spatially extended fluid transport. More specifically,
the destruction of regular patterns of oscillons coincides with the emergence
of a complex fluid motion whose statistics are similar to that of
two-dimensional turbulence. We reveal that a lattice of oscillons generates
vorticity at the oscillon scale in the horizontal flow. The interaction of
these vortices explain how 2D turbulence is fueled by almost standing waves.
Remarkably, the curvature of Lagrangian trajectories reveals a "footprint" of
the forcing scale vortices in fully developed turbulence. 2D Navier-Stokes
turbulence should be considered a source of disorder in Faraday waves. These
findings also provide a new paradigm for vorticity creation in 2D flows
Multichannel visible spectroscopy diagnostic for particle transport studies in the H-1 heliac
A multichannel spectroscopy diagnostic has been developed to study cross-field particle transport in the radiation-dominated low-temperature plasmas (Te<100 eV) in the H-1 heliac. The optical setup covers the full plasma minor radius in the poloidal plane collecting light from ten parallel chords arranged tangentially to the flux surfaces. The light collected from the plasma is coupled into optical fibers and through interference filters into photomultipliers. Two such ten-fiber arrays are aligned parallel to one another to allow the simultaneous monitoring of two different spectral lines. The net radial electron particle flux is determined from the continuity equation by integrating over the ionization source term in the steady-state partially ionized plasma. The diagnostic measures the neutral line intensities and their ratios (in case of helium using the line ratio technique) and also measures excited neutral and ion spectral lines (in case of the argon plasma transport studies). A comparative analysis of the radial particle transport in the low- and high-confinement regimes is presented
Strong ExB shear flows in the pedestal region in H-mode plasma
We report the first experimental observation of stationary zonal flows in the
pedestal region of the H-mode plasma in the H-1 toroidal heliac. Strong peaks
in E_r shear mark the top and foot of the density pedestal. Strong m=n=0
low-frequency (f < 0.6 kHz) zonal flows are observed in regions of increased
E_r, suggesting substantial contribution of zonal flows to the spatial
modulation of E_r radial profiles. Radial localization of zonal flows is
correlated with a region of zero magnetic shear and low-order (7/5) rational
surfaces.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
A Self-Organized-Criticality model consistent with statistical properties of edge turbulence in a fusion plasma
The statistical properties of the intermittent signal generated by a recent
model for self-organized-criticality (SOC) are examined. A successful
comparison is made with previously published results of the equivalent
quantities measured in the electrostatic turbulence at the edge of a fusion
plasma. This result re-establishes SOC as a potential paradigm for transport in
magnetic fusion devices, overriding shortcomings pointed out in earlier works
[E. Spada, et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 3032 (2001); V. Antoni, et al, Phys.
Rev. Lett. 87, 045001 (2001)].Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Measurements of poloidal rotation velocity using cross-correlation spectroscopy in the H-1 heliac
A correlation spectroscopy diagnostic [M.G. Shats and J. Howard, Fusion Eng. Des. 34–35, 271 (1997)] measures fluctuation spectra and local fluctuation intensities in a radiation-dominated plasma, such as the low-temperature plasma in the H-1 heliac (Te<50 eV, ne<2×10¹⁸ m⁻³). When the fluctuation coherence lengths in the poloidal and radial directions are shorter than the plasma radius, the cross-correlation function of the two crossed-sightline fluctuating intensities contains information about the fluctuations amplitude and their phase in the intersection volume. The optical setup on the H-1 heliac uses two nearly orthogonal views to image 20 optical fibers arranged into two linear arrays in the plasma poloidal cross section. A matrix of 10×10 cross-correlation functions is then analyzed to determine the poloidal phase velocity of the fluctuations, poloidal and radial correlation lengths, and the radial profiles of the fluctuations intensity. The results on the poloidal propagation velocity measured using the cross-correlation technique (time delay of the cross-correlation functions) are compared with the poloidal velocity measured using poloidally separated probes in the plasma. Both velocities are found to be in good agreement and also agree well with the E×B drift velocity in this plasma