GYROKINETIC SIMULATION OF ENERGETIC PARTICLE TURBULENCE AND TRANSPORT

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2. Dynamics of transient behaviors of EP turbulence by using large scale nonlinear simulations, and validation of nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations for DIII-D chirping modes.

The time-averaged EP transport measures the overall EP confinement level required to sustain ignition in ITER. Meanwhile, severe damage to the ITER wall could be caused by the high peak to average transient behaviors of EP turbulence such as the bursting characteristics of chirping modes and avalanche phenomena. The proposed research would bridge the gap in modeling capability and nonlinear validation for predicting both time-averaged EP profiles and transient behaviors of EP turbulence. The proposed validation and prediction requires nonlinear gyrokinetic simulation covering multiple spatial-temporal scales and incorporating multiple physical processes (e.g., EP instability, microturbulence, and MHD modes). The proposed research therefore represents a significant step in the validation of the first-principles, integrated simulation toward building predictive capability for long pulse, burning plasmas. The proposed research requires multi-institutional, cross-disciplinary collaborations.