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Self Organization of Zonal Flows: Some Physics Behind the Color Viewgraphs
Abstract
Two model calculations which elucidate the basic physics of zonal flow generation are presented. The first uses statistical ray optics to clarify the physics of the modulational instability process. The second uses the envelope formalism to obtain and solve a simple system of equations for the zonal flow and drift wave envelope. This simple system is closely analogous to the Zakharov equations for Langmuir turbulence.
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