Stability of the global Alfven eigenmode in the presence of fusion alpha particles in an ignited tokamak plasma
- Institute for Fusion Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 (US)
The stability of global Alfven eigenmodes is investigated in the presence of super-Alfvenic energetic particles, such as fusion-product alpha particles in an ignited deuterium--tritium tokamak plasma. Alpha particles tend to destabilize these modes when {omega}{sub *{alpha}}{gt}{omega}{sub A}, where {omega}{sub A} is the shear-Alfven modal frequency and {omega}{sub *{alpha}} is the alpha particle diamagnetic drift frequency. This destabilization due to alpha particles is found to be significantly enhanced when the alpha particles are modeled with a slowing-down distribution function rather than with a Maxwellian distribution. However, previously neglected electron damping due to the magnetic curvature drift is found to be comparable in magnitude to the destabilizing alpha particle term. Furthermore, the effects of toroidicity are also found to be stabilizing, since the intrinsic toroidicity induces poloidal mode coupling, which enhances the parallel electron damping from the sideband shear-Alfven Landau resonance. In particular, for typical ignition tokamak parameters, global Alfven eigenmodes are found to be completely stabilized by either the electron damping that enters through the magnetic curvature drift or the damping introduced by finite toroidicity.
- OSTI ID:
- 5240588
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Fluids B: Plasma Physics; (USA), Journal Name: Physics of Fluids B: Plasma Physics; (USA) Vol. 1:12; ISSN 0899-8221; ISSN PFBPE
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
700108* -- Fusion Energy-- Plasma Research-- Wave Phenomena
ALFVEN WAVES
ALPHA PARTICLES
ANNULAR SPACE
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CHARGED PARTICLES
CLOSED CONFIGURATIONS
CLOSED PLASMA DEVICES
CONFIGURATION
DAMPING
DEUTERIUM
FLUID MECHANICS
HYDRODYNAMICS
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
HYDROMAGNETIC WAVES
IGNITION
ISOTOPES
LANDAU DAMPING
LIGHT NUCLEI
MAGNETIC FIELD CONFIGURATIONS
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
MECHANICS
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEI
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
PLASMA
RADIOISOTOPES
RESONANCE
SPACE
STABILITY
STABLE ISOTOPES
SYNTHESIS
THERMONUCLEAR DEVICES
THERMONUCLEAR REACTIONS
TOKAMAK DEVICES
TOROIDAL CONFIGURATION
TRITIUM
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES