Exponential power spectra, deterministic chaos and Lorentzian pulses in plasma edge dynamics

Exponential spectra have been observed in the edges of tokamaks, stellarators, helical devices and linear machines. The observation of exponential power spectra is significant because such a spectral character has been closely associated with the phenomenon of deterministic chaos by the nonlinear dynamics community. The proximate cause of exponential power spectra in both magnetized plasma edges and nonlinear dynamics models is the occurrence of Lorentzian pulses in the time signals of fluctuations. Lorentzian pulses are produced by chaotic behavior in the separatrix regions of plasma E × B flow fields or the limit cycle regions of nonlinear models. Chaotic advection, driven by the potential fields of drift waves in plasmas, results in transport. The observation of exponential power spectra and Lorentzian pulses suggests that fluctuations and transport at the edge of magnetized plasmas arise from deterministic, rather than stochastic, dynamics. (Some figures may appear in colour only in the online journal)