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Sub-grid-scale effects in magnetised plasma turbulence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 March 2021

Bogdan Teaca Open the ORCID record for Bogdan Teaca [Opens in a new window] ,
Evgeny A. Gorbunov ,
Daniel Told ,
Alejandro Bañón Navarro Open the ORCID record for Alejandro Bañón Navarro [Opens in a new window]  and
Frank Jenko
Bogdan Teaca*
Affiliation:
Coventry University, CoventryCV1 5FB, United Kingdom University of Craiova, 13 A.I. Cuza Street, 200585Craiova, Romania
Evgeny A. Gorbunov
Affiliation:
Coventry University, CoventryCV1 5FB, United Kingdom
Daniel Told
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstr. 2, D-85748Garching, Germany
Alejandro Bañón Navarro
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstr. 2, D-85748Garching, Germany
Frank Jenko
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstr. 2, D-85748Garching, Germany
*
†Email address for correspondence: [email protected]
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Abstract

In the present paper, we use a coarse-graining approach to investigate the nonlinear redistribution of free energy in both position and scale space for weakly collisional magnetised plasma turbulence. For this purpose, we use high-resolution numerical simulations of gyrokinetic (GK) turbulence that span the proton–electron range of scales, in a straight magnetic guide field geometry. Accounting for the averaged effect of the particles’ fast gyro-motion on the slow plasma fluctuations, the GK approximation captures the dominant energy redistribution mechanisms in strongly magnetised plasma turbulence. Here, the GK system is coarse grained with respect to a cut-off scale, separating in real space the contributions to the nonlinear interactions from the coarse-grid scales and the sub-grid scales (SGS). We concentrate on the analysis of nonlinear SGS effects. Not only does this allow us to investigate the flux of free energy across the scales, but also to now analyse its spatial density. We find that the net value of scale flux is an order of magnitude smaller than both the positive and negative flux density contributions. The dependence of the results on the filter type is also analysed. Moreover, we investigate the advection of energy in position space. This rather novel approach for GK turbulence can help in the development of SGS models that account for advective unstable structures for space and fusion plasmas, and with the analysis of the turbulent transport saturation.

Keywords

plasma nonlinear phenomenaastrophysical plasmas
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Plasma Physics , Volume 87 , Issue 2 , April 2021 , 905870209
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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