Gyrokinetic simulation of fusion plasma turbulence, 2; Self-organization of zonal flows in electron turbulence

Idomura, Yasuhiro   ; Ida, Masato; Tokuda, Shinji

Electron temperature gradient driven (ETG) turbulence is considered as one of relevant mechanisms of the electron thermal transport in tokamak plasmas. Recent simulation studies disclosed various turbulent structures in the ETG turbulence, and in particular, the formation of zonal flows, which lead to suppression of heat transport, is attracting great attention. In the talk, first principle gyrokinetic simulations of the ETG turbulence are shown, and zonal flows observed in the reversed shear tokamak configuration are discussed. Self-organization mechanisms of zonal flows are clarified from the viewpoint of similarities between zonal flows in the ETG turbulence and zonal jets in the Rossby wave turbulence in the planetary atmosphere.