Abstract

Direct Determination of Characteristic Fluctuation Frequencies from Phase Space Trajectories in Turbulent Plasmas

Kyron Williams
Princeton University
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

In several turbulent systems, characteristic fluctuation frequencies are observed which show a systematic dependence on local thermodynamics, atomic weight, and fluctuation turbulent energy. At the same time, the Takens phase space trajectories for these systems show cyclical evolutions and other evidence of underlying determinism. Using measurements of ArII resonance radiation in turbulent plasmas behind ionizing shock waves, frequencies are determined in the cyclical evolutions to be predictors of the characteristic fluctuation frequencies. From this, we extract evidence of predictive mappings for plasma turbulence as well as preliminary indications of force-like turbulent constraints.