2004/09/16 by Michael Shats, M. G. Shats, H. Xia +2 · 3 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics #Magnetic confinement fusion research #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #physics.flu-dyn #physics.plasm-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreve.71.046409
published as Physical Review E, 71, 046409 (2005) · 5 pages, 4 figures
arxiv created 2004/09/16 · openalex publication_date 2005/04/28 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Transitions from turbulence to order are studied experimentally in thin fluid layers and in magnetically confined toroidal plasma. It is shown that turbulence self-organizes through the mechanism of spectral condensation in both systems. The spectral redistribution of the turbulent energy leads to the reduction in the turbulence level, generation of coherent flow, reduction in the particle diffusion, and increase in the system's energy. The higher-order state in the plasma is sustained via the non-local spectral coupling of the linearly unstable spectral range to the large-scale mean flow. Spectral condensation of turbulence is discussed in terms of its role in the low-to-high confinement transitions in toroidal plasma which show similarity with phase transitions.