Nonlinear ion Bernstein wave heating experiment in the WT-3 tokamak

Abstract

Ion Bernstein wave (IBW) heating at ion cyclotron half-harmonic frequencies was performed in hydrogen (H) discharges in the WT-3 tokamak. The bulk ion temperature increase was measured by a charge exchange analyser and a spatially scanning polychrometer. The latter diagnostics can provide radial ion-temperature profiles. The incremental ion temperature has shown a peak at the exact location where the IBW frequency omega equals 3/2 of the ion cyclotron frequency, indicating the nonlinear direct acceleration of H ions. The wave electric field was measured by a Langmuir probe in the scrape-off layer. The electric field at the second harmonic of the excited IBW frequency was observed to vary depending on the power level and the toroidal magnetic field. These experimental results are compared with the theoretical prediction of nonlinear IBW damping. The measured dependences of the ion heating and the wave amplitude at 2 omega on the toroidal magnetic field are in reasonable agreement with the prediction.