Current Drive and Plasma Heating by Electron Bernstein Waves in MAST

Abstract

Electron Bernstein waves (EBW) have the potential to provide highly localized heating and current drive (CD). EBWs are predominantly electrostatic and they damp on electrons near electron cyclotron harmonics without momentum injection into the plasma. These features represent a powerful tool for understanding transport and stability phenomena by locally perturbing the plasma and providing complementary CD methods in addition to neutral beams. The Mega‐Ampere Spherical Tokamak (MAST) has a large cylindrical vacuum vessel and we have taken advantage of this to consider a number of launcher positions for RF power injection. The feasibility of EBW in the extended parameter space of MAST has been explored. Modelling was conducted with the EBW&BANDIT code package using a “steady state” reference scenario with near zero loop voltage. Clear heating and CD effects have been identified for different launch configurations and frequencies.