Alfvén oscillations in ohmic discharges with runaway electrons in the TUMAN-3M tokamak

Abstract

Studying the mechanism of Alfvén wave generation in plasma is important, since the interaction of these waves with energetic particles in tokamak-type reactors can increase the losses of energy and particles with the corresponding decrease in the efficiency of plasma heating and, under certain conditions, lead to the damage of structural elements of the system. Despite the previous detailed investigations of the excitation of Alfvén waves by superthermal particles in regimes with additional heating, the physics of Alfvén mode generation in discharges with ohmic heating of plasma is still not sufficiently studied. We have established that a significant factor inf luencing the development of Alfvén oscillations in ohmic discharge is the presence of runaway electrons. A physical mechanism explaining this relationship is proposed.