Transport scaling in interchange-driven toroidal plasmas

Two-dimensional fluid simulations of a simple magnetized torus are presented, in which the vertical and toroidal components of the magnetic field create helicoidal field lines that terminate on the upper and lower walls of the plasma chamber. The simulations self-consistently evolve the full radial profiles of the electric potential, density, and electron temperature in the presence of three competing effects: the cross-field turbulent transport driven by the interchange instability, parallel losses to the upper and lower walls, and the input of particles and heat by external plasma sources. Considering parameter regimes in which equilibrium ExB shear flow effects are weak, we study the dependence of the plasma profiles-in particular the pressure profile scale length-on the parameters of the system. Analytical scalings are obtained that show remarkable agreement with the simulations.