Nonlinear interaction of Alfvénic instabilities and turbulence via the modification of the equilibrium profiles

Nonlinear simulations of Alfvén modes (AMs) driven by energetic particles (EPs) in the presence of turbulence are performed with the gyrokinetic particle-in-cell code ORB5. The AMs carry a heat flux, and consequently they nonlinearly modify the plasma temperature profiles. The isolated effect of this modification on the dynamics of turbulence is studied by means of electrostatic simulations. We find that turbulence is reduced when the profiles relaxed by the AM are used, with respect to the simulation where the unperturbed profiles are used. This is an example of indirect interaction of EPs and turbulence. First, an analytic magnetic equilibrium with circular concentric flux surfaces is considered as a simplified example for this study. Then, an application to an experimentally relevant case of ASDEX Upgrade is discussed.