Zonal flow generation in collisionless trapped electron mode turbulence

TL;DR

This paper analytically investigates how zonal flows are generated in collisionless trapped electron mode turbulence using a fluid model, deriving growth rates and examining their dependence on plasma parameters in tokamaks.

Contribution

It introduces an analytical expression for zonal flow growth rate in TEM turbulence and compares it with linear TEM growth, exploring parameter scaling.

Findings

Zonal flow growth rate derived analytically.

Comparison with linear TEM growth shows relationships.

Scaling laws with plasma parameters identified.

Abstract

In the present work the generation of zonal flows in collisionless trapped electron mode (TEM) turbulence is studied analytically. A reduced model for TEM turbulence is utilized based on an advanced fluid model for reactive drift waves. An analytical expression for the zonal flow growth rate is derived and compared with the linear TEM growth, and its scaling with plasma parameters is examined for typical tokamak parameter values.