The interaction of three waves and electrostatic turbulence in tokamaks

• Grant number: 08/00054-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2008
• End date: March 31, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Physics of Fluids, Plasma Physics and Electrical Discharge
• Principal Investigator: Iberê Luiz Caldas
• Grantee: Jose Danilo Szezech Jr
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física (IF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 07/54000-0 - Non-linear dynamics, AP.TEM

Abstract

The formation of turbulent states is a phenomenon common in the daily life of people, being characterized by not regular and stochastic behavior. Examples of such states we could cite the dispersion of the smoke of cigarette, the mixing of hot and cold air in the atmosphere or the flow of water through the pillars of the bridges. Despite the famous work of Kolmogorov, to the description of fully developed turbulentm states, there is no consensus on the exact mechanism that initiates the turbulence. In this work we propose to investigate how occur the origin of the turbulent state in models that are applied to plasma. Specifically, we will analysis the mechanisms of onset of turbulence due to drift waves in the plasma edge of tokamaks. To do this, we start with the space-time study of the interaction of three waves based on the model introduced by Hasegawa-Mima. We still investigate what is the exact mechanism for the onset of turbulence in the model. Then, we will analyse the effect of the addition of a fourth wave in the beginning of turbulent states.