  With the increase in computational capabilities over the last years it
becomes possible to simulate more and more complex and accurate physical
models. Gyrokinetic theory has been introduced in the 1960s and 1970s in the
need of describing a plasma with more accurate models than fluid equations, but
eliminating the complexity of the fast gyration about the magnetic field lines.
Although results from current gyrokinetic computer simulations are in fair
agreement with experimental results in core physics, crucial assumptions made
in the derivation make it unreliable in regimes of higher fluctuations and
stronger gradient, such as the tokamak edge. With our novel optimized and
scalable semi-Lagrangian solver we are able to simulate ion-temperature
gradient modes with the 6D kinetic model including the turbulent saturation.
After thoroughly testing our simulation code against analytical computations
and gyrokinetic simulations (with the gyrokinetic code GYRO), it has been
possible to show first plasma properties that go beyond standard gyrokinetic
simulations. This includes the explicit description of the complete
perpendicular energy fluxes and the excitation of high frequency waves (around
the Larmor frequency) in the nonlinear saturation phase.
