skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Fast electron transport in lower-hybrid current drive

Journal Article · · Physics of Fluids B; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.859914· OSTI ID:5216835
;  [1]
  1. Plasma Fusion Center and Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA)

The quasilinear Fokker--Planck formulation is generalized for lower-hybrid current drive to include the wave-induced radial transport of fast electrons. Toroidal ray tracing shows that the wave fields in the plasma develop a large poloidal component associated with the upshift in {ital k}{sub {parallel}} and the filling of the spectral gap.'' These fields lead to an enhanced radial {ital E}{times}{ital B} drift of resonant electrons. Two types of radial flows are obtained: an outward convective flow driven by the asymmetry in the poloidal wave spectrum, and a diffusive flow proportional to the width of the poloidal spectrum. Numerical results relevant to Alcator C (Phys. Rev. Lett. {bold 53}, 450 (1984)) and JT-60 (Nucl. Fusion {bold 29}, 1815 (1989)) are presented; they show that the radial convection velocity has a broad maximum of nearly 1 m/sec and is independent of the amplitude of fields. In both cases, the radial diffusion is found to be highly localized near the magnetic axis. For JT-60, the peak of the diffusion profile can be quite large, nearly 1 m{sup 2}/sec.

DOE Contract Number:
FG02-91ER54109
OSTI ID:
5216835
Journal Information:
Physics of Fluids B; (United States), Vol. 3:10; ISSN 0899-8221
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English