Review of lower hybrid experiments on ASDEX

Current drive and heating with lower hybrid waves have been investigated on ASDEX with two RF systems at 1.3 and 2.45 GHz. The results on current drive efficiency agree well with theory, including the effect of a DC electric field. Global energy and particle confinement are improved in the presence of a large suprathermal electron population. Stabilization of the m = 1 mode gives rise to strong central electron heating with Teo ≤ 8 keV and peaking of the Te(r) profile. Local control of the current profile is achieved by launching compound spectra from independent grill antennas. The LH power deposition profile and the modification of the current profile were modelled with a fully self-consistent 3-D Fokker-Planck code. (author). 21 refs, 11 figs