2D properties of core turbulence on DIII-D and comparison to gyrokinetic simulations
Quantitative 2D characteristics of localized density fluctuations are presented over the range of 0.3 < r/a < 0.9 in L-mode plasmas on DIII-D [J. L. Luxon, Nucl. Fusion 42, 614 (2002)]. Broadband density fluctuations increase in amplitude from (n) over tilde/n < 0.5% in the deep core to (n) over tilde/n similar to 2.5% near the outer region. The observed Doppler-shift due to the E x B velocity matches well with the measured turbulence group and phase velocities (in toroidally rotating neutral beam heated plasmas). Turbulence decorrelation rates are found to be similar to 200 kHz at the edge and to decrease toward the core (0.45 < r/a < 0.9) where they approach the E x B shearing rate (similar to 50 kHz). Radial and poloidal correlation lengths are found to scale with the ion gyroradius and exhibit an asymmetric poloidally elongated eddy structure. The ensemble-averaged turbulent eddy structure changes its tilt with respect to the radial-poloidal coordinates in the core, consistent with an E x B shear mechanism. The 2D spatial correlation and wavenumber spectra [S(k(r); k(theta))] are presented and compared to nonlinear flux-tube GYRO simulations at two radii, r/a = 0.5 and r/a = 0.75, showing reasonable overall agreement, but the GYRO spectrum exhibits a peak at finite kr for r/a = 0.75 that is not observed experimentally; E x B shear may cause this discrepancy. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics.