Transport reduction via shear flow modification of the cross phase

Abstract

As a model example of the effect of shear flow on the cross phase between electrostatic potential and pressure fluctuations, a nonlinear theory of resistive pressure gradient driven turbulence (RPGDT) in a shear flow is presented. This work builds on numerical studies of RPGDT, which have shown that both flow shear and curvature can affect the cross phase as well as the fluctuation levels. In this work, we show that the effect of shear flow on transport can be expressed through the temporal response of pressure to potential. It is shown heuristically that even in the case where the fluctuation levels are not modified, the flow shear still acts to reduce the phase angle between potential and pressure fluctuations, thereby suppressing transport. The scaling of the cross phase with flow shear and flow curvature is presented.