Synergy of turbulent and neoclassical transport through poloidal convective cells

Asahi, Yuichi*; Grandgirard, V.*; Sarazin, Y.*; Donnel, P.*; Garbet, X.*; Idomura, Yasuhiro; Dif-Pradalier, G.*; Latu, G.*

Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, 61(6), p.065015_1 - 065015_15, 2019/05

https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6587/ab0972

The role of poloidal convective cells on transport processes is studied with the full-F gyrokinetic code GYSELA. For this purpose, we apply a numerical filter to convective cells and compare the simulation results with and without the filter. The energy flux driven by the magnetic drifts turns out to be reduced by a factor of about 2 once the numerical filter is applied. A careful analysis reveals that the frequency spectrum of the convective cells is well-correlated with that of the turbulent Reynolds stress tensor, giving credit to their turbulence-driven origin. The impact of convective cells can be interpreted as a synergy between turbulence and neoclassical dynamics.