Modeling spatiotemporal complexity during plasma instabilities

Nuclear fusion is a highly challenging field of intense research. One of the not yet solved problems avoiding conditions for a self-sustained reaction is certainly the modeling and control of plasma instabilities. In this paper, we propose a novel approach towards the qualitative modeling of spatiotemporal phenomena occurring in plasma during instabilities. The modeling strategy adopted is based on the representation of the pedestal area of the plasma torus by means of connected cells, following the paradigm of reaction-diffusion cellular nonlinear networks. The dynamics of each portion of the area of interest is modeled by using a simple nonlinear dynamical system, whose behavior reproduces the peculiar features of real measurements, such as pressure gradient and magnetic field. The capability of the proposed model to replicate the behavior of pressure gradient profiles observed during instabilities in real experiments determines a first step in the attempt of proposing a new qualitative model of plasma behavior.