Toroidal drift-wave fluctuations driven by ion pressure gradients

Abstract

Dynamic equations for the electrostatic potential and pressure fluctuations in the ballooning drift modes are shown to lead to a turbulent state described by the mixing length theory for saturation. The nonlinear states are compared with previously given formulae for the root-mean-square amplitudes of the fluctuations and the k, omega structure of the fluctuations. The parametric dependence of the root-mean-square fluctuation level, the rate of decay of the two-time correlation functions, and the anomalous thermal flux are reported.