Coherent structures and transport in drift wave plasma turbulence

Fusion energy research aims at developing fusion power plants providing safe and clean energy with abundant fuels. Plasma turbulence induced transport of energy and particles is a performance limiting factor for fusion devices. Hence the understanding of plasma turbulence is important for optimization. The present work is a part of the puzzle to understand the basic physics of transport induced by drift wave turbulence in the edge region of a plasma. The basis for the study is the Hasegawa- Wakatani model. Simulation results for 3D periodic and nonperiodic geometries are presented. The Hasegawa-Wakatani model is further expanded to include ion temperature effects. Another expansion of the model is derived from the Braginskii electron temperature equation. The result is a self-consistent set of equations describing the dynamical evolution of the drift wave fluctuations of the electron density, electron temperature and the potential in the presence of density and temperature gradients. 3D simulation results of the models are presented. Finally, the construction and first results from the MAST fluctuation reflectometer is described. The results demonstrate how L- to H-mode transitions as well as edge-localized-modes can be detected by the relatively simple diagnostic system.