Spectral properties of the kinetic Alfven wave in cylindrical tokamak geometry

Journal Article · Thu Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1985 · Phys. Fluids; (United States)

OSTI ID:5557417

van Rij, W I; Vahala, G; Sigmar, D J

It is shown, for a tokamak-like cylindrical plasma and small poloidal and toroidal mode numbers, that the full gyrokinetic shear Alfven spectrum is discrete when k/sub parallel/not =0. Calculations of the global eigenmodes of the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) limit, and their first-order finite Larmor radius (FLR) corrections, are presented. First-order FLR theory is found to be a good approximation to full FLR theory, even for modes with high radial node number. In the presence of a positive density gradient, such as that which may occur with pellet fueling of the plasma, the existence of global MHD eigenmodes above the Alfven continuum is confirmed.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 5557417
• Journal Information: Phys. Fluids; (United States), Journal Name: Phys. Fluids; (United States) Vol. 28:8; ISSN PFLDA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700108* -- Fusion Energy-- Plasma Research-- Wave Phenomena
ALFVEN WAVES
CLOSED PLASMA DEVICES
CONFIGURATION
CYLINDRICAL CONFIGURATION
EIGENVALUES
FLUID MECHANICS
HYDRODYNAMICS
HYDROMAGNETIC WAVES
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
MECHANICS
PLASMA
SHEAR
THERMONUCLEAR DEVICES
TOKAMAK DEVICES