The influence of finite drift orbit width on ICRF heating in toroidal plasmas

摘要

Ion cyclotron resonance heating in a toroidal plasma not only increases the perpendicular energy of the resonating ions but also results in their spatial transport. Depending on the direction of propagation of the waves, the ions will either drift inwards or outwards giving rise to an RF induced rotation with the toroidal torque component in the co-current or counter-current directions, respectively. It is found that the spatial transport induced by the RF field, the topology of the ion drift orbits and a wave field consistent with ion absorption are important for determining the distribution function of the heated species.