Understanding the turbulent mechanisms setting the density decay length in the tokamak scrape-off layer

Mechanisms setting the density decay in the scrape-off layer (SOL) at the outer midplane of a tokamak plasma are disentangled using two-fluid numerical simulations in a double-null magnetic configuration and analytical estimates. Typical experimental observations are retrieved, in particular increasing intermittency of the turbulence going from the near to the far SOL, which is reflected in two different density decay lengths. The decay length of the near SOL is well described as the result of transport driven by a nonlinearly saturated ballooning instability, while in the far SOL, the density decay length is described using a model of intermittent transport mediated by blobs. The analytical estimates of the decay lengths agree well with the simulation results and typical experimental values and can therefore be used to guide tokamak design and operation.

The increase of curvature radius of geomagnetic field lines preceding a classical dipolarization

Downstream observations at geosynchronous altitudes of field line dipolarization exhibit fundamental component of substorms associated with high velocity magnetotail flow bursts referred to as Bursty Bulk Flows. In growth phase of substorms, we found that the magnetosphere at geosynchronous orbit are in unstable conditions for Ballooning instability due to the appreciable tailward stretching of the flux tubes, and for slow magnetoacoustic wave due to the continuing field-aligned inflows of plasma sheet plasmas towards the equatorial plane. We propose following scenario of field line dipolarization in downstream locations; (1) The slow wave was excited through Ballooning instability by the arrival of Dipolarization Front at the leading edge of Bursty Bulk Flows. (2) In the equatorial plane, slow wave stretched the flux tube in dawn-dusk directions, which resulted in the spreading plasmas in dawn-dusk directions and reducing the radial pressure gradient in the flux tube. (3) As a result, the flux tube becomes a new equilibrium geometry in which curvature radius of new field lines increased in meridian plane, suggesting an onset of field line dipolarization. (4) Increasing curvature radius induced inductive electric fields of the order of few mV/m pointing westward in the equatorial plane, as well as radial electric fields associated with stretching flux tubes in dawn-dusk directions. Westward electric fields transmitted to the ionosphere produce a dynamic ionosphere where the E layer contains both dynamo (E · J 0) processes in it for generating field-aligned current system of Bostrom type. The dipolarization processes associated with changing the curvature radius occurred in the transitional intervals lasting for about 10 minutes preceding classical dipolarization composed of reduction of cross-tail currents and pileup of the magnetic fields transported from the tail.