Stability of alpha particle driven Alfvén eigenmodes in high performance JET DT plasmas

Abstract

The stability of alpha particle driven Alfvén eigenmodes (AEs) is analysed in high fusion power DT discharges on JET. Both hot ion H mode and shear optimized discharges are considered. Unstable AEs are not observed in hot ion H mode DT discharges even at the highest fusion power with alpha particle beta βα (0) ≈ 0.7%. Theoretical analysis shows that the AE stabilization is caused by the large plasma pressure, which prevents the existence of core localized AEs at peak fusion performance. Kinetic toroidal AEs (KTAEs), which persist at high plasma pressure, are found to be radially extended and subject to strong damping. The stability analysis based on the CASTOR-K code confirms that AEs cannot be driven unstable by alpha particles in high performance hot ion H mode discharges performed at JET. Alfvén eigenmodes in shear optimized regimes are more unstable than those in the hot ion H mode mainly due to the elevated central safety factor q, which increases the efficiency of AE interaction with energetic ions. As a consequence, AEs are observed in shear optimized DT discharges when ion cyclotron heating as low as 1 MW is applied.