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A simple one-field L-H transition model is studied in detail, analytically and numerically. The dynamical system consists of three equations coupling the drift wave turbulence level, zonal flow speed, and the pressure gradient. The fourth component, i.e., the mean shear velocity, is slaved to the pressure gradient. Bursting behavior, characteristic for predator-prey models of the drift wave - zonal flow interaction, is recovered near the transition to the quiescent H-mode (QH) and occurs as strongly nonlinear relaxation oscillations. The latter, in turn, arise as a result of Hopf bifurcation (limit cycle) of an intermediate fixed point (between the L- and H-modes). The system is shown to remain at the QH-mode fixed point even after the heating rate is decreased below the bifurcation point (i.e., hysteresis, subcritical bifurcation), but the basin of attraction of the QH-mode shrinks rapidly with decreasing power. This suggests that the hysteresis in the H-L transition may be less than that expected from S-curve models. Nevertheless, it is demonstrated that by shaping the heating rate temporal profile, one can reduce the average power required for the transition to the QH-mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interacting drift wave–zonal flow turbulence is examined at the spectral level of description using an extended “predator–prey” model. Analytic solutions that describe both the linear scaling of transport with ion–ion collisionality as well as the saturation regime are obtained for a simple model of drift wave turbulence. A theory of self-regulation in this system is presented. The possibility of bifurcation to a state with higher turbulence level and transport is demonstrated. This bifurcation is associated with the appearance of a condensate solution at the largest scales. The possible relevance of this phenomenon to the bursting events of turbulence and transport recently observed in gyrokinetic simulations of ITG instability is discussed. © 2001 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]