Lagrangian dynamics of drift-wave turbulence

The statistical properties of Lagrangian particle transport are investigated in dissipative drift-wave turbulence modelled by the Hasegawa–Wakatani system. By varying the adiabaticity parameter c , the flow regime can be modified from a hydrodynamic limit for c = 0 to a geostrophic limit for c → ∞ . For c of order unity the quasi-adiabatic regime is obtained, which might be relevant to describe the edge turbulence of fusion plasmas in tokamaks. This particularity of the model allows one to study the change in dynamics when varying from one turbulent flow regime to another. By means of direct numerical simulation we consider four values for c and show that the Lagrangian dynamics is most intermittent in the hydrodynamic regime, while the other regimes are not or only weakly intermittent. In both quasi-adiabatic and quasi-geostrophic regimes the PDFs of acceleration exhibit exponential tails. This behaviour is due to the pressure term in the acceleration and not a signature of intermittency.