Lagrangian structures and transport in turbulent magnetized plasmas

Abstract

Using direct numerical simulations, it is established that under realistic conditions, the turbulent transport in magnetized fusion plasmas tends to be in a regime for which the cross-field dynamics of tracers can be described neither by Eulerian nor by random walk approaches. Instead, the concept of Lagrangian coherent structures turns out to be a useful tool for studying such systems. Here, networks of repelling and attracting material lines—acting as barriers for transport—become important. The latter are analogues of the stable and unstable manifolds in the static case. This opens up new possibilities for interpreting and analyzing turbulent transport in magnetized plasmas.