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Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Visually Based Characterization of the Incipient Particle Motion in Regular Substrates: From Laminar to Turbulent Conditions
Published on: February 22, 2018
Localized turbulence suppression and increased flow shear near the q=2 surface during internal-transport-barrier
M W Shafer1, G R McKee, M E Austin
1University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Engineering Drive, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA.
Abstract:
Broadband turbulent fluctuations in the plasma density are transiently suppressed when low-order rational q surfaces first appear in negative central magnetic shear plasmas on the DIII-D tokamak, which can lead to the formation of internal transport barriers. Increased localized flow shear is simultaneously observed. It transiently exceeds the measured turbulence decorrelation rate, providing a mechanism to trigger the formation of the transport barrier. This increased flow shear and turbulence suppression propagates radially outward, following the q=2 surface.
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