Stability of drift-cyclotron loss-cone waves in H-mode plasmas
- Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
The drift-cyclotron loss-cone mode was first studied in mirror machines. In such devices, particles with small pitch angles are not confined, creating a hole in the velocity distribution function that is a source of free energy and leads to micro-instabilities in the cyclotron-range of frequencies. In the edge region of tokamak devices operating under H-mode conditions, ion loss also occurs. In this case, gradient drift carries ions moving opposite to the plasma current preferentially into the divertor, creating a one-sided loss cone. A simple analysis shows that for the quiescent H-mode plasmas in DIII-D the critical gradient for instability is exceeded within 2 cm of the separatrix, and the maximum growth rate at the separatrix is 3×107 s-1.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC52-07NA27344
- OSTI ID:
- 1258508
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1254193
- Report Number(s):
- LLNL-JRNL-679821
- Journal Information:
- Nuclear Fusion, Vol. 56, Issue 6; ISSN 0029-5515
- Publisher:
- IOP ScienceCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Similar Records
Stabilization of drift cyclotron loss cone instability with additions of small amounts of cool plasma
Dependence of the drift cyclotron loss cone instability on the radial density gradient