Validation of the gyrokinetic model in ITG and TEM dominated L-mode plasmas

A rigorous validation of the gyrokinetic model was performed in both ion temperature gradient (ITG) and trapped electron mode (TEM) dominated Alcator C-Mod plasmas at (normalized midplane minor radius) r/a = 0.5 and 0.8. Analysis focuses on two L-mode discharges operated with 1.2 and 3.5 MW of ion cyclotron resonance heating. In depth investigation into the experimental uncertainties and simulation sensitivities in these discharges allows for a stringent test of the gyrokinetic model implemented by the GYRO code (Candy and Waltz 2003 J. Comput. Phys.186 545) in both the centre of the stiff gradient region (r/a = 0.5) and the middle of the region often associated with the transport 'shortfall'(r/a = 0.8). To identify the nature of the plasma turbulence and to ensure a robust evaluation of the model's ability to reproduce experiment, the sensitivity of the simulation results to experimental uncertainty in turbulence drive and suppression terms were determined at both radial locations. When significant TEM activity is present, nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations are found to reproduce both electron and ion experimental heat fluxes within their diagnosed uncertainties. In contrast, in the absence of TEM, electron heat fluxes are robustly under predicted by low-k, gyrokinetic simulation.