Evidence of low-dimensional chaos in magnetized plasma turbulence

TL;DR

This study provides evidence of low-dimensional chaos in magnetized plasma turbulence through analysis of probe data, supporting theoretical models of chaos development in plasma instabilities.

Contribution

The paper demonstrates the presence of low-dimensional chaos in plasma turbulence using recurrence plots and Lyapunov exponents, confirming theoretical predictions.

Findings

Evidence of low-dimensional chaos in plasma turbulence

Recurrence plot analysis supports chaotic dynamics

Lyapunov exponent estimation confirms chaos presence

Abstract

We analyze probe data obtained from a toroidal magnetized plasma configuration suitable for studies of low-frequency gradient-driven instabilities. These instabilities give rise to field-aligned convection rolls analogous to Rayleigh-Benard cells in neutral fluids, and may theoretically develop similar routes to chaos. When using mean-field dimension analysis, we observe low dimensionality, but this could originate from either low-dimensional chaos, periodicity or quasi-periodicity. Therefore, we apply recurrence plot analysis as well as estimation of the largest Lyapunov exponent. These analyses provide evidence of low-dimensional chaos, in agreement with theoretical predictions.