Gyrokinetic Particle Simulation of Turbulent Transport in Burning Plasmas

Successful operation of the International Tokamak Experimental Reactor (ITER) device requires a predictive understanding of turbulent transport of heat, particles, momentum, current, and fusion by-products. Moreover, confronting the problems of turbulent transport in burning plasmas requires that the collective plasma dynamics of the working gas plasma and the energetic particles be addressed on an equal footing. The dilemma of turbulent transport in magnetically confined, collisionless plasmas also presents a set of purely scientific challenges of the highest caliber. Here, we present the physics basis and motivation for the Gyrokinetic Turbulence Code Framework (GTCF), a suite of interconnected, compatible tools with which to undertake petascale gyrokinetic particle simulations of turbulent transport in burning plasmas.