# Gyrokinetic continuum simulations of plasma turbulence in the Texas Helimak

## TL;DR

This paper presents the first gyrokinetic continuum simulations of plasma turbulence in the Texas Helimak, capturing key features of the device and comparing results with experimental data to understand turbulence behavior.

## Contribution

It introduces the first gyrokinetic simulations of plasma turbulence in the Helimak, including device-specific features like bad-curvature instabilities and sheath boundaries.

## Key findings

- Simulations show qualitative agreement with experimental profiles and fluctuation amplitudes.
- Both simulations and experiments exhibit blob-like turbulence statistics.
- Quantitative differences highlight areas for further model refinement.

## Abstract

The first gyrokinetic simulations of plasma turbulence in the Texas Helimak device, a simple magnetized torus, are presented. The device has features similar to the scrape-off layer region of tokamaks, such as bad-curvature-driven instabilities and sheath boundary conditions on the end plates, which are included in these simulations. Comparisons between simulations and measurements from the experiment show similarities, including equilibrium profiles and fluctuation amplitudes that approach experimental values, but also some important quantitative differences. Both experimental and simulation results exhibit turbulence statistics that are characteristic of blob transport.