Basic Studies of Non-Diffusive Transport in Plasmas

该奖项是对提交给NSF/美国能源部基础等离子体科学与工程伙伴关系联合征集NSF 09-596的提案的回应。该奖项提供资金支持本科生参与整个研究工作，该研究工作由美国能源部根据与加州大学洛杉矶分校的合同(Grant DE-FG02-10ER55082)单独提供资金。该项目包括磁化等离子体中非扩散输运的基础研究。所谓非扩散是指系统的基本宏观参数，如温度和密度的传输不遵循经典的福克-普朗克方程所预测的标准扩散行为。当代在广泛的科学领域的研究越来越多地认识到非扩散运输的重要作用。在生物学、地质学、大气科学和等离子体科学等广泛不同的领域中都可以找到大量的例子。该项目团队包括加州大学洛杉矶分校的George Morales教授(PI)和James Maggs博士(联合PI)、高级合作者、橡树岭国家实验室的Diego del-Castillo-Negrete博士和加州大学洛杉矶分校的研究生Adam Kullberg。该项目旨在扩展和发展非扩散输运的数学描述和相应的数值模拟，以纳入加州大学洛杉矶分校LAPD-U装置进行的基本实验室实验得出的最新观点。该项目将首先解决更简单的问题，然后将复杂性增加到可以进行实验比较和设计新实验的水平。这个项目的学术价值在于，它在非扩散传输的数学描述方面的现代进展和基本等离子体实验之间提供了独特的联系，在这些实验中，涨落的作用可以在受控条件下与经典传输和反常传输之间的转换有关。更广泛的影响包括产生对磁聚变和空间科学研究人员有用的基本见解，完成广泛的国家利益领域的博士论文，在学术和国家实验室研究人员之间建立有价值的交流，并通过社区外展活动和课堂教学促进对科学的兴趣。NSF对本科生参与的支持通过向学生介绍科学研究作为一条可能的职业道路，通过对学生的早期培训增加了更广泛的教育影响。

This award is made in response to a proposal submitted to and reviewed under the NSF/DOE Partnership in Basic Plasma Science and Engineering joint solicitation NSF 09-596. The award provides funds to support undergraduate participation in the overall research effort, which is being funded separately by the DOE under contract to UCLA (Grant DE-FG02-10ER55082).This project consists of basic studies of non-diffusive transport in magnetized plasmas. By non-diffusive it is meant that the transport of fundamental macroscopic parameters of a system, such as temperature and density, does not follow the standard diffusive behavior predicted by a classical Fokker-Planck equation. Contemporary studies in broad areas of science are increasingly identifying the important role of non-diffusive transport. Numerous examples can be found in widely different fields such as biology, geology, atmospheric sciences, and plasma science. The project team consists of Prof. George Morales (PI) and Dr. James Maggs (co-PI) at UCLA, a senior collaborator, Dr. Diego del-Castillo-Negrete at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and a graduate student at UCLA, Adam Kullberg. The project aims to expand and develop mathematical descriptions, and corresponding numerical modeling, of non-diffusive transport to incorporate recent perspectives derived from basic laboratory experiments performed in the LAPD-U device at UCLA. The project will proceed by first tackling simpler issues and sequentially increasing the complexity to a level where experimental comparisons are possible and new experiments can be designed. The intellectual merit of this project is that it provides a unique connection between modern advances in the mathematical description of non-diffusive transport and basic plasma experiments in which the role of fluctuations can be related, under controlled conditions, to the transition between classical and anomalous transport.The broader impacts include the generation of basic insight useful to magnetic fusion and space science researchers, completion of a Ph.D. dissertation in broad areas of national interest, establishing a valuable exchange between academic and national laboratory researchers, and promotion of interest in science through community outreach events and classroom instruction.The NSF support of undergraduate participation adds a broader educational impact through the early-year training of students by introducing them to scientific research as a possible career path.