Finite Pressure Effects on Reversed Shear Alfven Eigenmodes

The inclusion of finite pressure in ideal-magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) theory can explain the Reversed magnetic Shear Alfven Eigenmodes (RSAE) (or Alfven cascades) that have been observed in several large tokamaks without the need to invoke the energetic particle mechanism for the existence of these modes. The chirping of the RSAEs is cased by changes in the minimum of the magnetic safety factor, q(sub)min, while finite pressure effects explains the observed non-zero minimum frequency of the RSAE when qmin has a rational value. Finite pressure effects also play a dominant role in the existence of the downward chirping RSAE branch