Energetic-particle-modified global Alfvén eigenmodes
J. B. Lestz, E. V. Belova, N. N. Gorelenkov
2018
Physics of Plasmas
Fully self-consistent hybrid MHD/particle simulations reveal strong energetic particle modifications to sub-cyclotron global Alfvén eigenmodes (GAE) in low-aspect ratio, NSTX-like conditions. Key parameters defining the fast ion distribution function -- the normalized injection velocity v_0/v_A and central pitch -- are varied in order to study their influence on the characteristics of the excited modes. It is found that the frequency of the most unstable mode changes significantly and
more »
... ly with beam parameters, in accordance with the Doppler-shifted cyclotron resonances which drive the modes, and depending most substantially on v_0/v_A. This unexpected result is present for both counter-propagating GAEs, which are routinely excited in NSTX, and high frequency co-GAEs, which have not been previously studied. Large changes in frequency without clear corresponding changes in mode structure could indicate the existence of a new energetic particle mode, referred to here as an energetic-particle-modified GAE (EP-GAE). Additional simulations conducted for a fixed MHD equilibrium demonstrate that the GAE frequency shift cannot be explained by the equilibrium changes due to energetic particle effects.
doi:10.1063/1.4998602
fatcat:mcgjvjzlmvasxjjpzt6hndgmu4