Two-Dimensional Conformal Plasma Turbulence in the Hasegawa-Mima Equation

Abstract

The two-dimensional (2D) conformal field theory (CFT) suggests that the 2D plasma turbulence, governed by the Hasegawa-Mima (H-M) equation, may have multiple exponents of energy spectrum in momentum space. Electrostatic potential driven by drift waves in magnetized 2D plasmas would be described by the H-M equation. On the other hand, the 2D CFT has an infinite-dimensional symmetry. When we focus on minimal models established in 2D CFT, each minimal model provides a different 2D statistical model as presented in fluid turbulence, quantum field theory and string theory, and would provide a specific exponent of the energy spectrum. The CFT analytical results in this work suggests that the H-M plasma turbulence may have multiple exponents of the energy spectrum.