Destabilization of low mode number Alfven modes in a tokamak by energetic or alpha particles

With the inclusion of finite Larmor radius effects in the shear Alfven eigenmode equation, the continuous Alfven spectrum, which has been extensively discussed in ideal magnetohydrodynamics, is removed. Neutrally stable, discrete radial eigenmodes appear in the absence of sources of free energy and dissipation. Alpha (or energetic) particle toroidal drifts destabilize these modes, provided the particles are faster than the Alfven speed. Although the electron Landu resonance contributes to damping, a stability study of the parametric variation of the energy and the density scale length of the energetic particles shows that modes with low radial mode numbers remain unstable in most cases. Since the alpha particles are concentrated in the center of the plasma, this drift-type instability suggests anomalous helium ash diffusion. Indeed, it is shown that stochasticity of alpha orbits due to the overlapping of radially neighboring Alfven resonances is induced at low amplitudes, e/sub i//sup approx./phi/T/sub i/ greater than or equal to 0.05, implying a diffusion coefficient D/sub r//sup α/ greater than or equal to 4.4 x 103cm2/s