Secondary instability in drift wave turbulence as a mechanism for zonal flow and avalanche formation

Abstract

The article reports on recent developments in the theory of secondary instability in drift-ion temperature gradient turbulence. Specifically, the article explores secondary instability as a mechanism for zonal flow generation, transport barrier dynamics and avalanche formation. These in turn are related to the space-time statistics of the drift wave induced flux, the scaling of transport with collisionality and β, and the spatio-temporal evolution of transport barriers.