PreprintCC BY 4.0arXiv
A novel mechanism for spontaneous ExB shear layer formation in scrape-off-layer plasmas
Abstract
We present a novel mechanism for spontaneous shear-flow generation in the scrape-off layer (SOL) of magnetically confined plasmas, arising at abrupt changes in the sheath connection length L∥. Such transitions occur naturally in the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator. Applying a critical balance treatment for interchange turbulence, we find that L∥ sets the equilibrium pressure gradient and hence the radial electric field away from the transition, producing an E× B shear around the transition comparable to the turbulence growth rate. High-fidelity simulations are shown to be consistent with the theoretical prediction.
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BibTeX
@misc{shanahan2026novel,
title = {{A novel mechanism for spontaneous ExB shear layer formation in scrape-off-layer plasmas}},
author = {Brendan Shanahan and Eduardo Rodriguez},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.30343},
eprint = {2610.30343},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.30343},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A novel mechanism for spontaneous ExB shear layer formation in scrape-off-layer plasmas
AU - Brendan Shanahan
AU - Eduardo Rodriguez
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.30343
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.30343
AB - We present a novel mechanism for spontaneous shear-flow generation in the scrape-off layer (SOL) of magnetically confined plasmas, arising at abrupt changes in the sheath connection length L_∥. Such transitions occur naturally in the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator. Applying a critical balance treatment for interchange turbulence, we find that L_∥ sets the equilibrium pressure gradient and hence the radial electric field away from the transition, producing an E× B shear around the transition comparable to the turbulence growth rate. High-fidelity simulations are shown to be consistent with the theoretical prediction.
ER -