A random walk approach to anomalous particle and energy transport

Abstract

The combined Continuous Time Random Walk (CTRW) in position and momentum space is introduced, in the form of two coupled integral equations that describe the evolution of the probability distribution for finding a particle at a certain position and with a certain momentum as a function of time. The integral equations are solved numerically with a pseudospectral method that is based on the expansion of the unknown functions in terms of Chebyshev polynomials. In parallel, Monte-Carlo simulation are performed. Through the inclusion of momentum space, the combined CTRW is able to yield results on density and temperature profile evolution, on particle and heat fluxes and diffusivities, and on kinetic energy distributions. Depending on the choice of the probability distributions of the particle displacements in position and momentum space, the combined CTRW is able to model phenomena of anomalous transport in position as well as in momentum (or energy or velocity) space. An application is made to a toroidally confined plasma that undergoes off-center injection of cold plasma (off-axis fueling), using two variants of the model, the mixed model and the critical gradient model. The phenomenon of profile stiffness is addressed, both for the density and for the temperature profile, respectively, and the particle and energy confinement times are determined. The analysis of the particle and heat fluxes shows that the dynamics realized in the combined CTRW is incompatible with the classical approach of Fick's or Fourier's law for particle and heat transport, respectively.