Destabilitization of low mode number Alfvén modes in a tokamak by energetic or alpha particles

Abstract

With the inclusion of finite Larmor radius effects in the shear Alfvén eigenmode equation, the continuous Alfvén spectrum, which has been extensively discussed in ideal magnetohydrodnamics, is removed. Neutrally stable, discrete radial eignmodes appear in the absence of sources of free energy dand dissipation. Alpha (or energetic) particle toroidal drifts destabilize these modes, provided the particles are faster than the Alfvén speed. Although the electron Landau resonance contributes to damping, a stability study of the parametric variation of the energy and the density scale length of the energetic particles shows that modes with low radial mode numbers remain unstable in most cases. Since the alpha particles are concentrated in the center of the plasma, this drift-type instability suggests anomalous helium ash diffusion. Indeed, it is shown that stochasticity of alpha orbits due to the overlapping of radially neighboring Alfvén resonances is induced at low amplitudes, eiφ/Ti≳0.05, implying a diffusion coefficient Drα≳4.4×103 cm2/sec.