Regeneration of small eddies by data assimilation in turbulence

The effect of data assimilation of large-scale eddies on small-scale eddies in turbulence is studied by direct numerical simulations (DNSs) of Navier-Stokes turbulence with Taylor microscale Reynolds numbers up to 179. The DNSs show that even if the data of small-scale eddies are lost at some initial instant, they can be regenerated from the data of large-scale eddies under the condition that Fourier modes with wave number less than a critical wave number k(*) are continuously assimilated, where k(*) approximately 0.2eta(-1) with eta identical with(nu(3)/epsilon)(1/4), epsilon the mean energy dissipation rate, and nu the viscosity.     

Role of the zonal flow in multi-scale multi-mode turbulence with small-scale shear flow in tokamak plasmas

The structural characteristics of zonal flows and their roles in the nonlinear interaction of multi-scale multi-mode turbulence are investigated numerically via a self-consistent Landau-fluid model. The multi-mode turbulence here is composed of a shorter wavelength electromagnetic (EM) ion temperature gradient (ITG) mode and a Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability with long wavelengths excited by externally imposed small-scale shear flows. For strong shear flow, a prominent periodic intermittency of fluctuation intensity except for dominant ITG component is revealed in turbulence evolution, which onset time depends on the ion temperature gradient and the shear flow amplitudes corresponding to different KH instabilities. It is identified that the intermittency phenomenon results from the zonal flow dynamics, which is mainly generated by the KH mode and back-reacts on it. It is demonstrated that the odd symmetric components of zonal flow (same symmetry as the external flow) make the radial parity of the KH mode alteration through adjusting the drift velocities at two sides of the resonant surface so that the KH mode becomes bursty first. Afterwards, the ITG intermittency follows due to nonlinear mode coupling. Parametric dependences of the features of the intermittency are elaborated. Finally, associated turbulent heat transport is evaluated.     

Electromagnetic transport from microtearing mode turbulence

This Letter presents nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations of microtearing mode turbulence. The simulations include collisional and electromagnetic effects and use experimental parameters from a high-β discharge in the National Spherical Torus Experiment. The predicted electron thermal transport is comparable to that given by experimental analysis, and it is dominated by the electromagnetic contribution of electrons free-streaming along the resulting stochastic magnetic field line trajectories. Experimental values of flow shear can significantly reduce the predicted transport.     

Generation and amplification of magnetic islands by drift interchange turbulence

We investigate the multiscale nonlinear dynamics of a linearly stable or unstable tearing mode with small-scale interchange turbulence using 2D MHD numerical simulations. For a stable tearing mode, the nonlinear beating of the fastest growing small-scale interchange modes drives a magnetic island with an enhanced growth rate to a saturated size that is proportional to the turbulence generated anomalous diffusion. For a linearly unstable tearing mode the island saturation size scales inversely as one-fourth power of the linear tearing growth rate in accordance with weak turbulence theory predictions. Turbulence is also seen to introduce significant modifications in the flow patterns surrounding the magnetic island.     

On generating initial conditions for turbulence models: the case of Rayleigh–Taylor instability turbulent mixing

A new approach to generate initial conditions for RANS simulations of Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) turbulence is presented. The strategy is to provide profiles of turbulent model variables when it is suitable for the turbulence model to be started, and then use these profiles for the turbulence model initialization. The generation of turbulence model variable profiles is achieved with a two-step process. In the first step, a nonlinear modal model assuming small amplitude initial perturbations, incompressible and inviscid fluids is used to track the growth of modes that exist in a given initial perturbation spectrum, and also modes generated by mode interactions. The amplitude development of each mode represents the penetration distance of the light fluid into the heavy fluid (bubble penetration), for a given mode perturbation. The penetration distance of heavy fluid into the light fluid (spike penetration), for a given mode perturbation, is inferred from the bubble's height by an empirical relation valid for small initial amplitudes, and established by DNS simulations that depend on a nondimensional time, and the density contrast (Atwood number). It is hypothesized that the bubble front position of the RT mixing layer can be approximated by the largest penetration distance among all existing modes. The spike front position is approximated in the same fashion. The nonlinear model is evaluated by comparing the bubble front height evolution predicted by the model against the bubble front height predicted by an incompressible implicit large eddy simulations (ILES) code. Comparisons of results for “top-hat” and two-band initial perturbation spectra at Atwood numbers, A_T =0.3 and A_T =0.5 for the former, and A_T =0.01 and A_T =0.5 for the latter, show reasonable agreement. In the second step, the bubble and spike front positions, their derived velocities, and simplified profiles of the mixture fraction distribution of each fluid between the bubble and spike fronts are used with a two-fluid approximation to derive profiles for the turbulence model variables. When initialized with modal model profiles at start time τ₀, (i.e., the time when the turbulence model variable profiles are inferred from the modal model results), the RANS simulations provide at all times τ>τ₀ profiles that show good agreement with ILES simulations. The procedure for determining the time at which the RANS model should be started is a representative use, other parameters can be used depending on the application. In this paper, for the purpose of demonstration of the full strategy, τ₀ is taken as the time at which the mixing layer growth rate parameter α has reached its asymptotic value in the corresponding ILES simulation.     

Scintillations of partially coherent Laguerre Gaussian beams

Scintillations of Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) beams for weak atmospheric turbulence conditions are derived for on-axis receiver positions by using Huygens–Fresnel (HF) method in semi-analytic fashion. Numerical evaluations indicate that at the fully coherent limit, higher values of radial mode numbers will give rise to more scintillations, at medium and low partial coherence levels, particularly at longer propagation distances, scintillations will fall against rises in radial mode numbers. At small source sizes, the scintillations of LG beams having full coherence will initially rise, reaching saturation at large source sizes. For LG beams with low partial coherence levels, a steady fall toward the larger source sizes is observed. Partially coherent beams of medium levels generally exhibit a rising trend toward the large source sizes, also changing the respective positions of the related curves. Beams of low coherence levels will be less affected by the variations in the refractive index structure constant.     

高斯涡旋光束在大气湍流传输中的特性研究

为了研究大气湍流对高斯涡旋光束传递信息的影响,理论分析了经过大气湍流的高斯涡旋光束轨道角动量(OAM)模式的径向平均功率和归一化平均功率分布、固有模式指数、初始光束半径和湍流强度;采用纯相位扰动逼近的有效性,数值模拟高斯涡旋光束在传输中的OAM模式径向平均功率分布的变化。建立传输模型并进行外场激光大气传输实验,对比分析了模拟和实测的OAM归一化平均功率分布,结果表明在弱湍流条件下,OAM模式的径向平均功率随着接收器孔径尺寸的增加而变化,逐渐趋于稳定值。对于一般常用的接收孔径,在强湍流或较小的初始光束半径条件下对OAM模式干扰十分严重。验证了用数值方法模拟OAM在湍流介质中的模式变化过程的可靠性。     

Simulation of heating-compressed fast-ignition cores by petawatt laser-generated electrons

We report on unique particle-in-cell simulations to understand the relativistic electron beam thermalization and subsequent heating of highly compressed plasmas. The simulations yield heated core parameters in good agreement with the GEKKO-PW experimental measurements, given reasonable assumptions of laser-to-electron coupling efficiency and the distribution function of laser-produced electrons. The classical range of the hot electrons exceeds the mass density-core diameter product rhoL by a factor of several. Anomalous stopping appears to be present and is created by the growth and saturation of an electromagnetic filamentation mode that generates a strong back-EMF impeding hot electrons on the injection side of the density maxima.     

Influence of the lower-hybrid drift instability on magnetic reconnection in asymmetric configurations

Using fully kinetic 3D simulations of magnetic reconnection in asymmetric antiparallel configurations, we demonstrate that an electromagnetic lower-hybrid drift instability (LHDI) localized near the X line can substantially modify the reconnection mechanism in the regimes with large asymmetry, a moderate ratio of electron to ion temperature, and low plasma β. However, the mode saturates at a small amplitude in the regimes typical of Earth's magnetopause. In these cases, LHDI-driven turbulence is predominantly localized along the separatrices on the low-β side of the current sheet, in agreement with spacecraft observations.     

Bias Effects on the Reynolds Stress Using the Multi-Purpose Probe in IR-T1 Tokamak

The effect of the positive bias on Reynolds stress(RS) and its effect on the radial turbulent transport at the edge plasma(r/a = 0.9) and scrape-off layer(SOL) region of plasma in tokamak are investigated.The radial and poloidal electric fields(E_T,E_p) and ion saturation current(I_s) are measured by multi-purpose probe(MPP).This probe is fabricated and constructed for the first time in the IR-Tl tokamak.The most advantage of this probe is that the variations of E_T and E_p can be measured in different radii at the single shot.Thus the information of different radii can be compared with high precision.The bias voltage is fixed at V_(bias) = 200 V and it has been applied with the limiter bias that is fixed in r/a = 0.9.Moreover,the phase difference between radial and poloidal electric fields,and temporal evolution of the RS spectrum detected by MPP are calculated.RS magnitude on the edge(r/a = 0.9) is more than its vaiue in the SOL(r/a = 1.02).With the applied bias 200 V,RS and the magnitude of the phase difference between E_T and E_p are increased,while the radial turbulent transport is decreased simultaneously.Thus it can be concluded that RS affects radial turbulence.Temporal evolution of the RS spectrum shows that the frequency of RS is increased and reaches its highest value at r/a=0.9 in the presence of bias.     

Zonal flow dynamics and control of turbulent transport in stellarators

The relation between magnetic geometry and the level of ion-temperature-gradient (ITG) driven turbulence in stellarators is explored through gyrokinetic theory and direct linear and nonlinear simulations. It is found that the ITG radial heat flux is sensitive to details of the magnetic configuration that can be understood in terms of the linear behavior of zonal flows. The results throw light on the question of how the optimization of neoclassical confinement is related to the reduction of turbulence.     

Trapped electron mode turbulence driven intrinsic rotation in Tokamak plasmas

Progress from global gyrokinetic simulations in understanding the origin of intrinsic rotation in toroidal plasmas is reported. The turbulence-driven intrinsic torque associated with nonlinear residual stress generation due to zonal flow shear induced asymmetry in the parallel wave number spectrum is shown to scale close to linearly with plasma gradients and the inverse of the plasma current, qualitatively reproducing experimental empirical scalings of intrinsic rotation. The origin of current scaling is found to be enhanced k(∥) symmetry breaking induced by the increased radial variation of the safety factor as the current decreases. The intrinsic torque is proportional to the pressure gradient because both turbulence intensity and zonal flow shear, which are two key ingredients for driving residual stress, increase with turbulence drive, which is R/L(T(e)) and R/L(n(e)) for the trapped electron mode.     

Nonlinear saturation of trapped electron modes via perpendicular particle diffusion

In magnetized fusion plasmas, trapped electron mode (TEM) turbulence constitutes, together with ion temperature gradient (ITG) turbulence, the dominant source of anomalous transport on ion scales. While ITG modes are known to saturate via nonlinear zonal flow generation, this mechanism is shown to be of little importance for TEM turbulence in the parameter regime explored here. Instead, a careful analysis of the statistical properties of the ExB nonlinearity in the context of gyrokinetic turbulence simulations reveals that perpendicular particle diffusion is the dominant saturation mechanism. These findings allow for the construction of a rather realistic quasilinear model of TEM induced transport.     

Turbulence distance of radial Gaussian Schell-model array beams

The effect of turbulence on the spreading of radial Gaussian Schell-model (GSM) array beams is studied quantitatively by examining the mean-squared beam width. The analytical expression for the turbulence distance z _T of radial GSM array beams is derived by using the integral transform technique, which indicates within what ranges radial GSM array beams will be less affected by turbulence. It is shown that the effect of turbulence on the spreading of radial GSM array beams can be reduced by choosing the suitable array beam parameters and the type of the beam superposition. In addition, a comparison with the previous work is also made.     

Impact of equilibrium radial electric field on energy loss process after pedestal collapse

An impact of the equilibrium radial electric field on energy loss processes after pedestal collapse is numerically investigated using the BOUT++ framework. Using linear stability analysis, the resistive ballooning mode is shown to be stabilized by the radial shear of the equilibrium radial electric field. On the other hand, the energy loss level after the pedestal collapse increases if the equilibrium radial electric field is taken into account. The spatio-temporal and phase diagram analyses show that the equilibrium radial electric field partially cancels the fluctuation-driven toroidally axisymmetric radial electric field and weakens the E × B shearing rate after pedestal collapse, weakening the turbulence suppression by vortex shearing. The equilibrium radial electric field therefore increases turbulence intensity in nonlinear cyclic oscillations among pressure gradient, E × B shearing rate, and turbulence intensity, which gives rise to subsequent bursts of turbulent transport and increases the energy loss level.     

Statistical properties of turbidity, oxygen and pH fluctuations in the Seine river estuary (France)

We consider here, the fluctuations of turbidity, oxygen and pH time series recorded from the MAREL system (Ifremer, France), which is based on the deployment of data buoys equipped with water analysis capabilities in an automated mode. We perform a spectral analysis (from 10 min to years) of these time series, and we estimate their probability density functions. Oxygen, turbidity and pH are important quantities for ecosystem studies and physics-biology couplings, and their fluctuations reveal the possible influence of environmental factors such as tides and turbulence. Turbidity variability is highly complex and does not appear to be directly coupled to turbulence, since no clear range is visible. On the other hand, oxygen percentage of saturation and pH data show remarkably nice scaling ranges, indicating an important coupling with turbulence, but also biological or chemical activity, since the statistics differ markedly from passive scalars. Several possible sources of this variability are discussed.     

Intermittent transport associated with the geodesic acoustic mode near the critical gradient regime

Turbulent transport near the critical gradient in toroidal plasmas is studied based on global Landau-fluid simulations and an extended predator-prey theoretical model of ion temperature gradient turbulence. A new type of intermittent transport associated with the emission and propagation of a geodesic acoustic mode (GAM) is found near the critical gradient regime, which is referred to as GAM intermittency. The intermittency is characterized by new time scales of trigger, damping, and recursion due to GAM damping. During the recursion of intermittent bursts, stationary zonal flow increases with a slow time scale due to the accumulation of undamped residues and eventually quenches the turbulence, suggesting that a nonlinear upshift of the critical gradient, i.e., Dimits shift, is established through such a dynamical process.     

Waveguide modulated non-local optical interaction of semiconductor microdisks

The non-local optical interaction of two semiconductor microdisks with a waveguide bridged at radial direction is proposed and studied by three dimensional finite-difference time-domain （FDTD） electromagnetic simulations. The strong and weak optical interactions between two microdisks are observed and ascribed to the internal coupled modes with different coupling ratios. The vertical radiation losses and the related mode quality factors are modulated by waveguide length and present oscillation characteristics for the resonant modes. In addition, the optical leakage of coupling system is affected by the etching depth of disks due to tile emission of minor components of electric field.     

X-point collapse and saturation in the nonlinear tearing mode reconnection

We study the nonlinear evolution of the resistive tearing mode in slab geometry in two dimensions. We show that, in the strongly driven regime (large delta'), a collapse of the X point occurs once the island width exceeds a certain critical value approximately 1/delta'. A current sheet is formed and the reconnection is exponential in time with a growth rate proportional eta(1/2), where eta is the resistivity. If the aspect ratio of the current sheet is sufficiently large, the sheet can itself become tearing-mode unstable, giving rise to secondary islands, which then coalesce with the original island. The saturated state depends on the value of delta'. For small delta', the saturation amplitude is proportional delta' and quantitatively agrees with the theoretical prediction. If delta' is large enough for the X-point collapse to have occurred, the saturation amplitude increases noticeably and becomes independent of delta'.     

Interaction between small-scale zonal flows and large-scale turbulence: a theory for ion transport intermittency in Tokamak plasmas

Interaction between small-scale zonal flows and large-scale turbulence is investigated. The key mechanism is identified as radially nonlocal mode coupling. Fluctuating energy can be nonlocally transferred from the unstable longer to the stable or damped shorter wavelength region, so that the turbulence spectrum is seriously deformed and deviates from the nonlinear power law structure. Three-dimensional gyrofluid ion-temperature gradient (ITG) turbulence simulations show that an ion transport bursting behavior is consistently linked to the spectral deformity with the causal role of ITG-generated zonal flows in tokamak plasmas.