Abstract

The mechanism of nonlinear structural formation has been studied with a three-field reduced fluid model, which is extended to describe the resistive drift wave turbulence in magnetized cylindrical plasmas. In this model, ion-neutral collisions strongly stabilize the resistive drift wave, and the formed structure depends on the collision frequency. If the collision frequency is small, modulational coupling of unstable modes generates a zonal flow. On the other hand, if the collision frequency is large, a streamer, which is a localized vortex in the azimuthal direction, is formed. The structure is generated by nonlinear wave coupling and is sustained for a much longer duration than the drift wave oscillation period. This is a minimal model for analyzing the turbulent structural formation mechanism by mode coupling in cylindrical plasmas, and the competitive nature of structural formation is revealed. These turbulent structures affect particle transport.

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