arXiv subjects

Alexander V. Milovanov

Publications and source records attributed to Alexander V. Milovanov.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Interaction renormalization and the plasma staircase

We resolve an existing question concerning dynamical and structural stability of the E {\times} B staircases in magnetically confined fusion plasma. The problem has stirred considerable interest in the literature due to a unique combination of its scientific and practical aspects. Here, we report a new approach to the problem by combining the paradigmatic Hasegawa-Wakatani model of electrostatic drift-wave turbulence with an idea of interaction renormalization, imported from quantum field theory. It is shown based on the Schrödinger-Newton equation with renormalized interaction constant that the plasma staircase is robust and stable as soon as the nonadiabaticity parameter, δ, goes above a certain critical value, and is unstable otherwise. This critical value is an exact result of the interaction model and is found to be δc = π. For δ < δc , the unstable system expands in the radial direction, resulting in a radial second moment that grows with time t as t^(2/3). The results obtained bear important implications with regard to the implementation of arrays of semipermeable transport barriers in tokamaks, suggesting a threshold condition for their generation.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2025

Screening and localization in the nonlinear Anderson problem

We study the spreading dynamics of an initially localized wave packet in 1D nonlinear Schrödinger lattices with random potential. It is shown that adding small dielectric coupling to surrounding random medium results in asymptotic localization of the nonlinear field. The nonlinear localization length depends on dielectric loss of the medium at low temperatures and the value of nonlinearity parameter. The model predicts a possibility of self-induced localization when the ``medium" to which the wave field is dielectrically coupled is the nonlinear wave itself.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2025

Turbulence spreading and anomalous diffusion on combs

This paper presents a simple model for such processes as chaos spreading or turbulence spillover into stable regions. In this simple model the essential transport occurs via inelastic resonant interactions of waves on a lattice. The process is shown to result universally in a subdiffusive spreading of the wave field. The dispersion of this spreading process is found to depend exclusively on the type of the interaction process (three- or four-wave), but not on a particular instability behind. The asymptotic transport equations for field spreading are derived with the aid of a specific geometric construction in the form of a comb. The results can be summarized by stating that the asymptotic spreading pursues as a continuous-time random walk (CTRW) and corresponds to a kinetic description in terms of fractional-derivative equations. The fractional indexes pertaining to these equations are obtained exactly using the comb model. A special case of the above theory is a situation when two waves with oppositely directed wave vectors couple together to form a bound state with zero momentum. This situation is considered separately and associated with the self-organization of wave-like turbulence into banded flows or staircases. Overall, we find that turbulence spreading and staircasing could be described based on the same mathematical formalism, using the Hamiltonian of inelastic wave-wave interactions and a mapping procedure into the comb space. Theoretically, the comb approach is regarded as a substitute for a more common description based on quasilinear theory. Some implications of the present theory for the fusion plasma studies are discussed and a comparison with the available observational and numerical evidence is given.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2023

Turbulence spreading by the resonant wave-wave interactions: A fractional kinetics approach

This paper is concerned with the processes of spatial propagation and penetration of turbulence from the regions where it is locally excited into initially laminar regions. The phenomenon has come to be known as "turbulence spreading" and witnessed a renewed attention in the literature recently. Here, we propose a comprehensive theory of turbulence spreading based on fractional kinetics. We argue that the use of fractional-derivative equations permits a general approach focussing on fundamentals of the spreading process regardless of a specific turbulence model and/or specific instability type. The starting point is the Hamiltonian of the resonant wave-wave interactions, from which a family of scaling laws for the asymptotic spreading is derived. Both three- and four-wave interactions are considered. The results span from a subdiffusive spreading in the parameter range of weak chaos to avalanche propagation in regimes with population inversion. Attention is paid to how non-ergodicity introduces weak mixing, memory and intermittency into spreading dynamics, and how the properties of non-Markovianity and nonlocality emerge from the presence of islands of regular dynamics in phase space. Also we resolve an existing question concerning turbulence spillover into gap regions, where the instability growth is locally suppressed, and show that the spillover occurs through exponential (Anderson like) localization in case of four-wave interactions and through an algebraic (weak) localization in case of triad interactions. In the latter case an inverse-cubic behavior of the spillover function is found. Wherever relevant, we contrast our findings against the available observational and numerical evidence, and we also commit ourselves to establish connections with the models of turbulence spreading proposed previously.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2023

Dynamical chaos in nonlinear Schrödinger models with subquadratic power nonlinearity

We devise an analytical method to deal with a class of nonlinear Schrödinger lattices with random potential and subquadratic power nonlinearity. An iteration algorithm is proposed based on multinomial theorem, using Diophantine equations and a mapping procedure onto a Cayley graph. Based on this algorithm, we were able to obtain several hard results pertaining to asymptotic spreading of the nonlinear field beyond a perturbation theory approach. In particular, we show that the spreading process is subdiffusive and has complex microscopic organization involving both long-time trapping phenomena on finite clusters and long-distance jumps along the lattice consistent with Lévy flights. The origin of the flights is associated with the occurrence of degenerate states in the system; the latter are found to be a characteristic of the subquadratic model. The limit of quadratic power nonlinearity is also discussed and shown to result in a delocalization border, above which the field can spread to long distances on a stochastic process and below which it is Anderson localized similarly to a linear field.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

A self-consistent model of the plasma staircase and nonlinear Schrödinger equation with subquadratic power nonlinearity

A new basis has been found for the theory of self-organization of transport avalanches and jet zonal flows in L-mode tokamak plasma, the so-called "plasma staircase." The jet zonal flows are considered as a wave packet of coupled nonlinear oscillators characterized by a complex time- and wave-number dependent wave function; in a mean-field approximation this function is argued to obey a discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation with subquadratic power nonlinearity. It is shown that the subquadratic power leads directly to a white Lévy noise, and to a Lévy-fractional Fokker-Planck equation for radial transport of test particles (via wave-particle interactions). In a self-consistent description the avalanches, which are driven by the white Lévy noise, interact with the jet zonal flows, which form a system of semi-permeable barriers to radial transport. We argue that the plasma staircase saturates at a state of marginal stability, in whose vicinity the avalanches undergo an ever-pursuing localization-delocalization transition. At the transition point, the event-size distribution of the avalanches is found to be a power-law $w_τ(Δn) \sim Δn^{-τ}$, with the drop-off exponent $τ= ({\sqrt{17}} + 1)/{2} \simeq 2.56$. This value is an exact result of the self-consistent model. The edge behavior bears signatures enabling to associate it with the dynamics of a self-organized critical (SOC) state. At the same time the critical exponents, pertaining to this state, are found to be inconsistent with classic models of avalanche transport based on sand-piles and their generalizations, suggesting that the coupled avalanche-jet zonal flow system operates on different organizing principles. The results obtained have been validated in a numerical simulation of the plasma staircase using flux-driven gyrokinetic code for L-mode Tore-Supra plasma.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2019

Subdiffusive Lévy flights in quantum nonlinear Schrödinger lattices with algebraic power nonlinearity

We report a new result concerning the dynamics of an initially localized wave packet in quantum nonlinear Schrödinger lattices with a disordered potential. A class of nonlinear lattices with subquadratic power nonlinearity is considered. We show that there exists a parameter range for which an initially localized wave packet can spread along the lattice to unlimited distances, but the phenomenon is purely quantum and is hindered in the corresponding classical lattices. The mechanism for this spreading assumes that the components of the wave field may form coupled states by tunneling under the topological barriers caused by multiple discontinuities in the operator space. Then these coupled states thought of as quasiparticle states can propagate to long distances on Lévy flights with a distribution of waiting times. The overall process is subdiffusive and occurs as a competition between long-distance jumps of the quasiparticle states, on the one hand, and long-time trapping phenomena mediated by clustering of unstable modes in wave number space, on the other hand. The kinetic description of the transport, discussed in this work, is based on fractional-derivative equations allowing for both non-Markovianity of the spreading process as a result of attractive interaction among the unstable modes and the effect of long-range correlations in wave number space tending to introduce fast channels for the transport, the so-called stripes. We argue that the notion of stripes is key to understand the topological constraints behind the quantum spreading, and we involve the idea of stripy ordering to obtain self-consistently the parameters of the associated waiting-time and jump-length distributions. Finally, we predict the asymptotic laws for quantum transport and show that the relevant parameter determining these laws is the exponent of the power-law defining the type of the nonlinearity.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2018

Lévy flights on a comb and the plasma staircase

We formulate the problem of confined Lévy flight on a comb. The comb represents a sawtooth-like potential field $V(x)$, with the asymmetric teeth favoring net transport in a preferred direction. The shape effect is modeled as a power-law dependence $V(x) \propto |Δx|^n$ within the sawtooth period, followed by an abrupt drop-off to zero, after which the initial power-law dependence is reset. It is found that the Lévy flights will be confined in the sense of generalized central limit theorem if (i) the spacing between the teeth is sufficiently broad, and (ii) $n > 4-μ$, where $μ$ is the fractal dimension of the flights. In particular, for the Cauchy flights ($μ= 1$), $n>3$. The study is motivated by recent observations of localization-delocalization of transport avalanches in banded flows in the Tore Supra tokamak and is intended to devise a theory basis to explain the observed phenomenology.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2017

Destruction of Anderson localization in quantum nonlinear Schrödinger lattices

The four-wave interaction in quantum nonlinear Schrödinger lattices with disorder is shown to destroy the Anderson localization of waves, giving rise to unlimited spreading of the nonlinear field to large distances. Moreover, the process is not thresholded in the quantum domain, contrary to its "classical" counterpart, and leads to an accelerated spreading of the subdiffusive type, with the dispersion $\langle(Δn)^2\rangle \sim t^{1/2}$ for $t\rightarrow+\infty$. The results, presented here, shed new light on the origin of subdiffusion in systems with a broad distribution of relaxation times.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2016

Mixed diffusive-convective relaxation of a broad beam of energetic particles in cold plasma

We revisit the applications of quasi-linear theory as a paradigmatic model for weak plasma turbulence and the associated bump-on-tail problem. The work, presented here, is built around the idea that large-amplitude or strongly shaped beams do not relax through diffusion only and that there exists an intermediate time scale where the relaxations are convective (ballistic-like). We cast this novel idea in the rigorous form of a self-consistent nonlinear dynamical model, which generalizes the classic equations of the quasi-linear theory to "broad" beams with internal structure. We also present numerical simulation results of the relaxation of a broad beam of energetic particles in cold plasma. These generally demonstrate the mixed diffusive-convective features of supra-thermal particle transport; and essentially depend on nonlinear wave-particle interactions and phase-space structures. Taking into account modes of the stable linear spectrum is crucial for the self-consistent evolution of the distribution function and the fluctuation intensity spectrum.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2014

A topological approximation of the nonlinear Anderson model

We study the phenomena of Anderson localization in the presence of nonlinear interaction on a lattice. A class of nonlinear Schrodinger models with arbitrary power nonlinearity is analyzed. We conceive the various regimes of behavior, depending on the topology of resonance-overlap in phase space, ranging from a fully developed chaos involving Levy flights to pseudochaotic dynamics at the onset of delocalization. It is demonstrated that quadratic nonlinearity plays a dynamically very distinguished role in that it is the only type of power nonlinearity permitting an abrupt localization-delocalization transition with unlimited spreading already at the delocalization border. We describe this localization-delocalization transition as a percolation transition on a Cayley tree. It is found in vicinity of the criticality that the spreading of the wave field is subdiffusive in the limit t\rightarrow+\infty. The second moment grows with time as a powerlaw t^α, with α= 1/3. Also we find for superquadratic nonlinearity that the analog pseudochaotic regime at the edge of chaos is self-controlling in that it has feedback on the topology of the structure on which the transport processes concentrate. Then the system automatically (without tuning of parameters) develops its percolation point. We classify this type of behavior in terms of self-organized criticality dynamics in Hilbert space. For subquadratic nonlinearities, the behavior is shown to be sensitive to details of definition of the nonlinear term. A transport model is proposed based on modified nonlinearity, using the idea of stripes propagating the wave process to large distances. Theoretical investigations, presented here, are the basis for consistency analysis of the different localization-delocalization patterns in systems with many coupled degrees of freedom in association with the asymptotic properties of the transport.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2014

25 Years of Self-Organized Criticality: Solar and Astrophysics

Shortly after the seminal paper {\sl "Self-Organized Criticality: An explanation of 1/f noise"} by Bak, Tang, and Wiesenfeld (1987), the idea has been applied to solar physics, in {\sl "Avalanches and the Distribution of Solar Flares"} by Lu and Hamilton (1991). In the following years, an inspiring cross-fertilization from complexity theory to solar and astrophysics took place, where the SOC concept was initially applied to solar flares, stellar flares, and magnetospheric substorms, and later extended to the radiation belt, the heliosphere, lunar craters, the asteroid belt, the Saturn ring, pulsar glitches, soft X-ray repeaters, blazars, black-hole objects, cosmic rays, and boson clouds. The application of SOC concepts has been performed by numerical cellular automaton simulations, by analytical calculations of statistical (powerlaw-like) distributions based on physical scaling laws, and by observational tests of theoretically predicted size distributions and waiting time distributions. Attempts have been undertaken to import physical models into the numerical SOC toy models, such as the discretization of magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD) processes. The novel applications stimulated also vigorous debates about the discrimination between SOC models, SOC-like, and non-SOC processes, such as phase transitions, turbulence, random-walk diffusion, percolation, branching processes, network theory, chaos theory, fractality, multi-scale, and other complexity phenomena. We review SOC studies from the last 25 years and highlight new trends, open questions, and future challenges, as discussed during two recent ISSI workshops on this theme.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2014

A mixed SOC-turbulence model for nonlocal transport and Levy-fractional Fokker-Planck equation

The phenomena of nonlocal transport in magnetically confined plasma are theoretically analyzed. A hybrid model is proposed, which brings together the notion of inverse energy cascade, typical of drift-wave- and two-dimensional fluid turbulence, and the ideas of avalanching behavior, associable with self-organized critical (SOC) behavior. Using statistical arguments, it is shown that an amplification mechanism is needed to introduce nonlocality into dynamics. We obtain a consistent derivation of nonlocal Fokker-Planck equation with space-fractional derivatives from a stochastic Markov process with the transition probabilities defined in reciprocal space. The hybrid model observes the Sparre Andersen universality and defines a new universality class of SOC.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2013

A mixed SOC-turbulence model for nonlocal transport and space-fractional Fokker-Planck equation

The phenomena of nonlocal transport in magnetically confined plasma are theoretically analyzed. A hybrid model is proposed, which brings together the notion of inverse energy cascade, typical of drift-wave- and two-dimensional fluid turbulence, and the ideas of avalanching behavior, associable with self-organized critical (SOC) behavior. Using statistical arguments, it is shown that an amplification mechanism is needed to introduce nonlocality into dynamics. We obtain a consistent derivation of nonlocal Fokker-Planck equation with space-fractional derivatives from a stochastic Markovian process with the transition probabilities defined in reciprocal space.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2012

Percolation Models of Self-Organized Critical Phenomena

In this chapter of the e-book "Self-Organized Criticality Systems" we summarize some theoretical approaches to self-organized criticality (SOC) phenomena that involve percolation as an essential key ingredient. Scaling arguments, random walk models, linear-response theory, and fractional kinetic equations of the diffusion and relaxation type are presented on an equal footing with theoretical approaches of greater sophistication, such as the formalism of discrete Anderson nonlinear Schrödinger equation, Hamiltonian pseudochaos, conformal maps, and fractional derivative equations of the nonlinear Schrödinger and Ginzburg-Landau type. Several physical consequences are described which are relevant to transport processes in complex systems. It is shown that a state of self-organized criticality may be unstable against a bursting ("fishbone") mode when certain conditions are met. Finally we discuss SOC-associated phenomena, such as: self-organized turbulence in the Earth's magnetotail (in terms of the "Sakura" model), phase transitions in SOC systems, mixed SOC-coherent behavior, and periodic and auto-oscillatory patterns of behavior. Applications of the above pertain to phenomena of magnetospheric substorm, market crashes, and the global climate change and are also discussed in some detail. Finally we address the frontiers in the field in association with the emerging projects in fusion research and space exploration.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2009

Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy in field line diffusion by anisotropic magnetic turbulence

The Kolmogorov-Sinai (KS) entropy in turbulent diffusion of magnetic field lines is analyzed on the basis of a numerical simulation model and theoretical investigations. In the parameter range of strongly anisotropic magnetic turbulence the KS entropy is shown to deviate considerably from the earlier predicted scaling relations [Rev. Mod. Phys. {\bf 64}, 961 (1992)]. In particular, a slowing down logarithmic behavior versus the so-called Kubo number $R\gg 1$ ($R = (δB / B_0) (ξ_\| / ξ_\bot)$, where $δB / B_0$ is the ratio of the rms magnetic fluctuation field to the magnetic field strength, and $ξ_\bot$ and $ξ_\|$ are the correlation lengths in respective dimensions) is found instead of a power-law dependence. These discrepancies are explained from general principles of Hamiltonian dynamics. We discuss the implication of Hamiltonian properties in governing the paradigmatic "percolation" transport, characterized by $R\to\infty$, associating it with the concept of pseudochaos (random non-chaotic dynamics with zero Lyapunov exponents). Applications of this study pertain to both fusion and astrophysical plasma and by mathematical analogy to problems outside the plasma physics. This research article is dedicated to the memory of Professor George M. Zaslavsky

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2009

Pseudochaos and low-frequency percolation scaling for turbulent diffusion in magnetized plasma

The basic physics properties and simplified model descriptions of the paradigmatic "percolation" transport in low-frequency, electrostatic (anisotropic magnetic) turbulence are theoretically analyzed. The key problem being addressed is the scaling of the turbulent diffusion coefficient with the fluctuation strength in the limit of slow fluctuation frequencies (large Kubo numbers). In this limit, the transport is found to exhibit pseudochaotic, rather than simply chaotic, properties associated with the vanishing Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy and anomalously slow mixing of phase space trajectories. Based on a simple random walk model, we find the low-frequency, percolation scaling of the turbulent diffusion coefficient to be given by $D/ω\propto Q^{2/3}$ (here $Q\gg 1$ is the Kubo number and $ω$ is the characteristic fluctuation frequency). When the pseudochaotic property is relaxed the percolation scaling is shown to cross over to Bohm scaling. The features of turbulent transport in the pseudochaotic regime are described statistically in terms of a time fractional diffusion equation with the fractional derivative in the Caputo sense. Additional physics effects associated with finite particle inertia are considered.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2007

Stretched-exponential decay functions from a self-consistent model of dielectric relaxation

There are many materials whose dielectric properties are described by a stretched exponential, the so-called Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts (KWW) relaxation function. Its physical origin and statistical-mechanical foundation have been a matter of debate in the literature. In this paper we suggest a model of dielectric relaxation, which naturally leads to a stretched exponential decay function. Some essential characteristics of the underlying charge conduction mechanisms are considered. A kinetic description of the relaxation and charge transport processes is proposed in terms of equations with time-fractional derivatives.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗