Göttingen 2025 – scientific programme

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P: Fachverband Plasmaphysik

P 10: Poster Session I

P 10.27: Poster

Tuesday, April 1, 2025, 16:15–18:15, ZHG Foyer 1. OG

Coupling of fluid neutrals with gyrokinetic plasma in the edge turbulence code GENE-X — •Sabine Ogier-Collin, Philipp Ulbl, Wladimir Zholobenko, and Frank Jenko — Max-Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching bei München, Germany

Understanding turbulent transport in the plasma edge and scrape-off layer (SOL) is essential for managing heat and particle exhaust while maintaining effective core confinement in magnetic confinement fusion (MCF) reactors. In these regions, the abundance of neutral particles and their interactions with the plasma significantly influence radial profiles and thus gradient-driven instabilities, particle transport across the separatrix, and blob dynamics in the SOL.

GENE-X is a first-principles code designed to simulate edge and SOL turbulent transport in realistic magnetic geometries, including X-points. We present the first coupling of a continuum full-f gyrokinetic model with a fluid model for neutrals. The evolution of the neutrals density is captured by a pressure-diffusion equation, where the diffusion is driven by charge exchange collisions. Plasma-neutral interactions - such as ionisation, recombination and associated radiation - are included via special Krook operators.

Following verification, relaxation studies have been carried out to assess the impact of inelastic plasma-neutrals reactions on plasma distribution functions and equilibration dynamics. In addition, a first case study in divertor geometry is presented, demonstrating the potential of the coupled model for turbulence simulations in MCF devices.

Keywords: Magnetic Confinement Fusion; Turbulence; Edge and SOL; Neutrals; Computational physics