Nonlinear Dynamical Models of Plasma Turbulence

An exact pole-type truncation expansion technique has been used to study nonlinear dynamical systems which can be considered models for plasma turbulence. One of the models describes the mode coupling saturation of a linearly unstable, one-dimensional homogeneous plasma. Another describes the situation where waves with k < 0 are completely damped. The solutions exhibit a rich variety of complex behaviors including successive bifurcations to increasingly complicated periodic motion and the onset of chaotic behavior, as well quasi-periodic-like behavior with highly complex topology.