Experimental measurement of three-wave coupling and energy cascading

The nonlinear coupling coefficient and the energy transfer associated with three-wave interactions are computed from measured data of the turbulent edge plasma of the Texas Experimental Tokamak(TEXT) [Nucl. Technol. Fusion 1, 479 (1981)]. The results show the presence of three-wave interactions. The interactions cause energy to cascade away from the dominant waves of the spectrum primarily toward lower, but also toward higher frequencies. The results are obtained with a new digital spectral analysis technique based on the estimation of higher-order cumulants. The method is discussed and tested on a simulation experiment. The same technique is useful for neutral fluids as well.