Cellular automata model in particle transport studies in magnetized plasma

Abstract

Transport in a magnetized plasma is determined by a large number of particle interactions which lead to a diffusion-like behavior. Due to the nonlinear interplay of equations describing transport mechanisms, the spatial structure and the temporal dynamics of plasma profiles have non-trivial solutions. In this paper, we model transport properties of a bi-stable diffusive sandpile, which is based on a one-dimensional cellular automata algorithm, and compare them with experimental results obtained from toroidally-confined plasma experiments. Despite the simplicity of the sandpile model, a striking similarity between spatial structures of transport parameters in both systems is found. Show more