First Direct Observation of Runaway-Electron-Driven Whistler Waves in Tokamaks

DIII-D experiments at low density (n_{e}∼10^{19}  m^{-3}) have directly measured whistler waves in the 100-200 MHz range excited by multi-MeV runaway electrons. Whistler activity is correlated with runaway intensity (hard x-ray emission level), occurs in novel discrete frequency bands, and exhibits nonlinear limit-cycle-like behavior. The measured frequencies scale with the magnetic field strength and electron density as expected from the whistler dispersion relation. The modes are stabilized with increasing magnetic field, which is consistent with wave-particle resonance mechanisms. The mode amplitudes show intermittent time variations correlated with changes in the electron cyclotron emission that follow predator-prey cycles. These can be interpreted as wave-induced pitch angle scattering of moderate energy runaways. The tokamak runaway-whistler mechanisms have parallels to whistler phenomena in ionospheric plasmas. The observations also open new directions for the modeling and active control of runaway electrons in tokamaks.

High-harmonic fast-wave power flow along magnetic field lines in the scrape-off layer of NSTX

A significant fraction of high-harmonic fast-wave (HHFW) power applied to NSTX can be lost to the scrape-off layer (SOL) and deposited in bright and hot spirals on the divertor rather than in the core plasma. We show that the HHFW power flows to these spirals along magnetic field lines passing through the SOL in front of the antenna, implying that the HHFW power couples across the entire width of the SOL rather than mostly at the antenna face. This result will help guide future efforts to understand and minimize these edge losses in order to maximize fast-wave heating and current drive.

Predicting high harmonic ion cyclotron heating efficiency in Tokamak plasmas

Observations of improved radio frequency (rf) heating efficiency in ITER relevant high-confinement (H-)mode plasmas on the National Spherical Tokamak Experiment are investigated by whole-device linear simulation. The steady-state rf electric field is calculated for various antenna spectra and the results examined for characteristics that correlate with observations of improved or reduced rf heating efficiency. We find that launching toroidal wave numbers that give fast-wave propagation in the scrape-off plasma excites large amplitude (∼kV m(-1)) coaxial standing modes between the confined plasma density pedestal and conducting vessel wall. Qualitative comparison with measurements of the stored plasma energy suggests that these modes are a probable cause of degraded heating efficiency.

Sheared poloidal flow driven by mode conversion in tokamak plasmas

A two-dimensional integral full-wave model is used to calculate poloidal forces driven by mode conversion in tokamak plasmas. In the presence of a poloidal magnetic field, mode conversion near the ion-ion hybrid resonance is dominated by a transition from the fast magnetosonic wave to the slow ion cyclotron wave. The poloidal field generates strong variations in the parallel wave spectrum that cause wave damping in a narrow layer near the mode conversion surface. The resulting poloidal forces in this layer drive sheared poloidal flows comparable to those in direct launch ion Bernstein wave experiments.