The phase-space structure of a nonlinear ion diffusion tensor in ion-temperature-gradient-driven turbulence

Abstract

The phase-space structure of an ion diffusion tensor in ion temperature gradient (ITG)-driven turbulence is studied using the newly developed numerical code Numerical Diagnosis of Transport Matrix. The numerical results show that at both the linear and nonlinear stage, the diffusion tensor of ITG turbulence presents a typical ballooning structure in the poloidal direction and a magnetic drift resonance structure in velocity space. The D rr and D rK components of the diffusion tensor satisfy the Stokes–Einstein relation. It is found that the phase-space structure of the ion diffusion tensor at the linear stage is induced by the resonance between ions and ITG eigenmodes, while that at the nonlinear stage is induced by the resonance between ions and the daughter ballooning modes under the poloidal acceleration of nonlinear zonal radial electric fields.