Self-sustained plasma turbulence due to current diffusion

Plasma turbulence and anomalous transport by the electrostatic current diffusive interchange mode are studied by the nonlinear simulation based on the magnetohydrodynamic model. The turbulence is found to have a typical characteristic of subcritical turbulence. The saturation level, as a function of the pressure gradient ∇p, is confirmed to scale like ‖∇p‖3/2. This nature holds independent of the ratio ‖∇p‖/‖∇pc‖ where ‖∇pc‖, is a critical pressure gradient against linear instability. The turbulence-driven transport is also evaluated. The simulation result confirms the theoretical prediction, which is based on the self-sustained turbulence, with respect to the nonlinear growth and damping. Both the normal cascade and inverse cascade are essential in establishing the stationary turbulent state.