Anomalous Plasma Transport Due to Electron Temperature Gradient Instability

Abstract

The collisionless drift wave instability driven by an electron temperature inhomogeneity (electron temperature gradient instability) and the enhanced transport processes associated with it are studied using a two-and-a-half dimensional particle simulation code. The simulation results show that quasilinear diffusion in phase space is an important mechanism for the saturation of this instability. The instability yields particle fluxes toward the hot plasma regions. The magnetic shear stabilizes the instability. However the heat conductivity of the electron temperature perpendicular to the magnetic field, T_e⊥, is not reduced by the magnetic shear but remains high, whereas the heat conductivity of the parallel temperature, T_e⁄⁄, is effectively reduced.