Transport processes in reversed-field-pinch plasmas: Inconsistency with the self-organized-criticality paradigm

A study of transport processes in reversed-field-pinch plasmas was performed. Statistical properties of particle fluxes driven by electrostatic turbulence were also compared with those predicted by the self-organized-criticality (SOC) model. The statistical analysis revealed that laminar times between bursts carrying more than 50% of the particle transport at the edge exhibited a power law decay. The decomposition of particle flux fluctuations in the edge region of RFX showed that fluctuations were not self-similar in character.