Transitions to spatiotemporal chaos and turbulence of flute instabilities in a magnetized plasma.
The spatiotemporal transition scenario of flute instabilities from a regular to a turbulent state is experimentally investigated in the plasma column of a thermionic discharge. The same transition scenario, i.e., the Ruelle-Takens route to turbulence, is found for both the Kelvin-Helmholtz and the Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities. It is demonstrated that the transition can be more or less smooth, according to the discharge mode. In both cases, a strong radial dependence is observed, which is linked to the velocity shear layer in the case of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability.
Brochard
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LPMIA, UMR 7040 du CNRS, Université Henri Poincaré, Boîte Postale 239, F-54506 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy Cedex, France. frederic.brochard@lpmi.uhp-nancy.fr
Gravier
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Bonhomme
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