Impact of geodesic curvature on zonal flow generation in magnetically confined plasmas

TL;DR

This paper investigates how magnetic geometry, especially geodesic curvature, influences zonal-flow generation in plasma turbulence, proposing a new model to optimize magnetic configurations for better zonal-flow activation.

Contribution

It introduces a nonlinear proxy model linking geodesic curvature modulation to zonal-flow enhancement in magnetically confined plasmas.

Findings

Amplification of zonal-flow intensity with smaller geodesic curvature

Development of a nonlinear proxy model for magnetic geometry exploration

Potential for improved magnetic configurations to activate zonal flows

Abstract

The impact of magnetic geometry on zonal-flow generation in ion temperature gradient driven turbulence is investigated by means of linear and nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations. The modulation of geodesic curvature on various configurations has revealed amplification of the zonal-flow intensity in relatively smaller geodesic curvature. Based on these findings, a nonlinear proxy model for explorations of a novel magnetic geometry to activate the zonal-flow dynamics is proposed.