Simulation study of two-ion hybrid resonance heating

A one-dimensional low-noise, low-frequency electromagnetic particle simulation code that is appropriate for investigation of ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) is developed. Retaining the hyperbolicity of the electromagnetic waves and exploiting nearly one-dimensional characteristics (perpendicular to the external magnetic field) of the ICRH, we use the guiding center electron approximation for the transverse electronic current calculation. We observe mode conversion of the incoming magnetosonic wave into the electrostatic ion-ion hybrid mode accompanied by strong ion-heating. The dependence of this heating on the different plasma parameters is examined through a series of simulations, focusing mainly on wave incidence from the high field side. Because K/sub parallel/ = 0 in our runs, the conventional Landau damping cannot explain the ion heating. Non-linear mechanisms for energy transfer are discussed. Our numerical results demonstrate the importance of the non-linear wave particle interaction for energy transfer are discussed. Our numerical results demonstrate the importance of the non-linear wave particle interaction for energy absorption during radio frequency heating in the ion cyclotron regime. 32 refs., 17 figs