Gyrokinetic turbulence: a nonlinear route to dissipation through phase space

A. A Schekochihin; S. C Cowley; W Dorland; G. W Hammett; G. G Howes; G. G Plunk; E Quataert; T Tatsuno

doi:10.1088/0741-3335/50/12/124024

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Gyrokinetic turbulence: a nonlinear route to dissipation through phase space

Journal article

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Gyrokinetic turbulence: a nonlinear route to dissipation through phase space

A. A Schekochihin, S. C Cowley, W Dorland, G. W Hammett, G. G Howes, G. G Plunk, E Quataert and T Tatsuno

Plasma physics and controlled fusion, Vol.50(12), p.124024

06/05/2008

DOI: 10.1088/0741-3335/50/12/124024

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https://arxiv.org/pdf/0806.1069View

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Abstract

Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 50, 124024 (2008) This paper describes a conceptual framework for understanding kinetic plasma turbulence as a generalized form of energy cascade in phase space. It is emphasized that conversion of turbulent energy into thermodynamic heat is only achievable in the presence of some (however small) degree of collisionality. The smallness of the collision rate is compensated by the emergence of small-scale structure in the velocity space. For gyrokinetic turbulence, a nonlinear perpendicular phase mixing mechanism is identified and described as a turbulent cascade of entropy fluctuations simultaneously occurring at spatial scales smaller than the ion gyroscale and in velocity space. Scaling relations for the resulting fluctuation spectra are derived. An estimate for the collisional cutoff is provided. The importance of adequately modeling and resolving collisions in gyrokinetic simulations is biefly discussed, as well as the relevance of these results to understanding the dissipation-range turbulence in the solar wind and the electrostatic microturbulence in fusion plasmas.

Details

Title: Subtitle: Gyrokinetic turbulence: a nonlinear route to dissipation through phase space
Creators: A. A Schekochihin - Imperial College London
S. C Cowley - University of California, Los Angeles
W Dorland - University of Maryland, College Park
G. W Hammett - Princeton University
G. G Howes - University of California, Berkeley
G. G Plunk - University of California, Los Angeles
E Quataert - University of California, Berkeley
T Tatsuno - University of Maryland, College Park
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Plasma physics and controlled fusion, Vol.50(12), p.124024
DOI: 10.1088/0741-3335/50/12/124024
ISSN: 0741-3335
eISSN: 1361-6587
Language: English
Date published: 06/05/2008
Academic Unit: Physics and Astronomy
Record Identifier: 9984199767702771

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