Excitation of zonal flow by the modulational instability in electron temperature gradient driven turbulence
arXiv:physics/0703050 · doi:10.1017/S0022377807006988
Abstract
The generation of large-scale zonal flows by small-scale electrostatic drift waves in electron temperature gradient(ETG) driven turbulence model is considered. The generation mechanism is based on the modulational instability of a finite amplitude monochromatic drift wave. The threshold and growth rate of the instability as well as the optimal spatial scale of zonal flow are obtained.
arXiv comment10 pages, 3 figures