A unique parabolic relation is observed to link skewness and kurtosis of around ten thousand density fluctuation signals, measured over the whole cross section of a toroidal magnetized plasma for a broad range of experimental conditions. All the probability density functions of the measured signals, including those characterized by a negative skewness, are universally described by a special case of the Beta distribution. Fluctuations in the drift-interchange frequency range are necessary and sufficient to assure that probability density functions can be described by this specific Beta distribution.

• Received 13 October 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.255002