Topological bifurcation of helical flows in magnetized plasmas with density gradient and parallel flow shear

The topological bifurcation of the flow in non-equilibrium magnetized plasmas is demonstrated by a turbulence simulation. A system with two generic sources of turbulence, the gradients of density and parallel flow, is considered. Topological index of the flow is introduced, in order to indicate the chirality of flow pattern. We here report that the turbulence-driven flow forms the structure of co-axial helixes with opposite chirality. By changing the source of plasma particles, which modifies the density gradient, the transition between three turbulent states is obtained. In addition to the two turbulent states, which are dominated by the drift wave and the D'Angelo mode, respectively, the new state is found. In this third state, fluctuations are driven by both of the free energy sources simultaneously, and compete with the others. The result illustrates the generic feature of turbulence flow generation in non-equilibrium magnetized plasmas. Published by AIP Publishing.