4,422
edits
Self-Organised Criticality: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
m
no edit summary
mNo edit summary |
mNo edit summary |
||
| Line 9: | Line 9: | ||
The basic explanation for this phenomenon is self-regulation of the profiles by turbulence. The strong temperature and density gradients in fusion-grade plasmas provide free energy that may drive turbulence. The turbulence then enhances transport locally, leading to a local reduction of gradients and a consequential damping of the turbulence amplitude. This feedback could be responsible for keeping the gradients below a critical value. Considered locally, the former is a description of a simple marginal state. | The basic explanation for this phenomenon is self-regulation of the profiles by turbulence. The strong temperature and density gradients in fusion-grade plasmas provide free energy that may drive turbulence. The turbulence then enhances transport locally, leading to a local reduction of gradients and a consequential damping of the turbulence amplitude. This feedback could be responsible for keeping the gradients below a critical value. Considered locally, the former is a description of a simple marginal state. | ||
But the interaction of such feedback mechanisms | But the interaction of such feedback mechanisms at various radial locations would lead to ''avalanche'' behaviour and a true (scale-free) self-organised state. | ||
Indeed, there is direct evidence for avalanching behaviour in numerical simulations | Indeed, there is direct evidence for avalanching behaviour in numerical simulations | ||