Turbulence Simulation on Zonal Flow Formations in the Presence of Parallel Flows

Abstract

It is demonstrated that the zonal flow is controlled by the parallel flow in the cylindrical plasmas. A three-dimensional turbulence simulation is performed, based on the reduced fluid model. The background parallel flow is applied by introducing the time independent parallel momentum source. Changing the magnitude of the momentum source, the behavior of the zonal flow is investigated. The drift wave turbulence is affected by the parallel flow, and it shows the spatial competition between turbulence modes. The spatial competition appears/disappears abruptly, depending on the intensity of the parallel momentum source. As a consequence of the transition between the turbulence state, the radial profile of the turbulence drastically changes, which leads to the change of the turbulence force to drive the zonal flow. In this way, the parallel flow indirectly affects the zonal flow through the deformation of the turbulence.