Cross-field transport by instabilities and blobs in a magnetized toroidal plasma

  • M. Podestà
  • , A. Fasoli
  • , B. Labit
  • , I. Furno
  • , P. Ricci
  • , F. M. Poli
  • , A. Diallo
  • , S. H. Müller
  • , C. Theiler

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The mechanisms for anomalous transport across the magnetic field are investigated in a toroidal magnetized plasma. The role of plasma instabilities and macroscopic density structures (blobs) is discussed. Examples from a scenario with open magnetic field lines are shown. A transition from a main plasma region into a loss region is reproduced. In the main plasma, which includes particle and heat source locations, the transport is dominated by the fluctuation-induced particle and heat flux associated with a plasma instability. On the low-field side, the cross-field transport is ascribed to the intermittent ejection of macroscopic blobs propagating toward the outer wall. It is shown that instabilities and blobs represent fundamentally different mechanisms for cross-field transport.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number045001
JournalPhysical review letters
Volume101
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 22 2008
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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