to facilitate scientific discovery in fusion research through the application of advanced computer science techniques.
Fusion is potentially an inexhaustible energy source whose exploitation requires basic understanding of high-temperature plasmas. The development of a science-based predictive capability for fusion-relevant plasmas is a challenge central to fusion energy science, in which numerical modeling has played a vital role for more than four decades.
The program in Theory and Simulation of Fusion Plasmas at General Atomics supports the DOE's goals of advancing fundamental understanding of plasmas, resolving outstanding scientific issues and establishing reduced-cost paths to more attractive fusion energy systems, and advancing understanding and innovation in high-performance plasmas including burning plasmas.
The program in advanced computer science techniques supports the same goal through the application of a wide variety of technologies including Grid Computing, Parallel Computing, Advanced Collaborative Environments, Large-Scale Data Management, Scientific Visualization, and Tiled Display Walls.
Announcements
Theory Group Program Report for Grant Year 2005-2007
The GYRO code has been used for numerical experiments aimed at understanding the fundamental "zonal-flow/drift-wave paradigm" for nonlinear saturation of turbulent transport. The practical conclusion from these numerical experiments is that the drift wave potential fluctuation intensity for each mode wave number should scale roughly like the product of the Geodesic Acoustic Mode (GAM) frequency and the linear growth rate, rather than the square of the linear growth rate as often assumed in models like MMM95. The GLF23 and TGLF nonlinear saturation models are roughly consistent with this rule. The details are in a paper by R. Waltz and C. Holland (UCSD) submitted to Physics of Plasmas.
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