A Heuristic Exploration of Zonal Flow-like Structures in the Presence of Toroidal Rotation in a Non-Inertial Frame

The mechanisms by which rotation influences zonal flows (ZFs) in plasma are incompletely understood, presenting a significant challenge in the study of plasma dynamics. This research addresses this gap by investigating the role of non-inertial effects—specifically centrifugal and Coriolis forces—on Geodesic Acoustic Modes (GAMs) and ZFs in rotating tokamak plasmas. While previous studies have linked centrifugal convection to plasma toroidal rotation, they often overlook the Coriolis effects or inconsistently incorporate non-inertial terms into magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) equations. In this work, we derive self-consistent drift-ordered two-fluid equations from the collisional Vlasov equation in a non-inertial frame, and we modify the Hermes cold ion code to simulate the impact of rotation on GAMs and ZFs. Our simulations reveal that toroidal rotation enhances ZF amplitude and GAM frequency, with Coriolis convection playing a critical role in GAM propagation and the global structure of ZFs. Analysis of simulation outcomes indicates that centrifugal drift drives parallel velocity growth, while Coriolis drift facilitates radial propagation of GAMs. This work may provide valuable insights into momentum transport and flow shear dynamics in tokamaks, with implications for turbulence suppression and confinement optimization.