Numerical simulation of resistive drift wave turbulence in a linear device

The three-field reduced MHD model was extended to describe the resistive drift wave turbulence in cylindrical magnetized plasmas. Using this model, linear eigenmode analyses are performed to identify the unstable modes, and the parameter scan predicts the necessary condition for excitation of the resistive drift wave turbulence. It is found that ion-neutral collisions strongly stabilize the resistive drift wave, and give a threshold condition for the turbulence excitation. Nonlinear simulations clarify the stabilizing effects of the quasi-linear flattening of the density profile and of the generated mean potential profile. It is pointed out that the parallel nonlinearity is important in the formation of a potential structure, which plays an essential role in mode saturation.