Alfven wave excitation and single-pass ion cyclotron heating in a fast-flowing plasma

Journal Article · Mon May 15 04:00:00 EDT 2006 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2178774· OSTI ID:20783187

Ando, Akira; Inutake, Masaaki; Hatanaka, Motoi; Hattori, Kunihiko; Tobari, Hiroyuki; Yagai, Tsuyoshi ^[1]

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1. Department of Electrical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Aoba-yama 05, Sendai 980-8579 (Japan)

Alfven wave excitation and ion heating experiments were performed in a fast flowing plasma. When rf waves in the ion cyclotron range of frequency were excited by right- and left-handed helically wound antennas, shear and compressional Alfven waves with azimuthal mode number m=-1 and m=+1, respectively were excited. The dispersion relations of the propagating waves were obtained experimentally and compared with the theoretical ones, including the Doppler effect of the plasma flow. Strong ion heating was observed in the fast-flowing plasma when rf waves were launched by the right-handed helically wound antenna in a magnetic beach configuration. The plasma thermal energy W{sub perpendicular} and the ion temperature T{sub i} drastically increased during the rf pulse. This large increase was observed under lower-density conditions, where the ratio of the ion cyclotron frequency to the ion-ion collision frequency becomes high. The resonance magnetic field was affected by the Doppler shift due to the fast-flowing plasma.

• OSTI ID: 20783187
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 13; ISSN PHPAEN; ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
ALFVEN WAVES
ANTENNAS
CYCLOTRON FREQUENCY
DISPERSION RELATIONS
DOPPLER EFFECT
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
EXCITATION
ICR HEATING
ION TEMPERATURE
ION-ION COLLISIONS
IONS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
PLASMA
PULSES
RF SYSTEMS
SHEAR
THERMODYNAMICS