Modeling of ICRH experiments in the Tara tandem mirror

The production and heating of the central cell plasma in Tara is provided by a slot antenna located on the midplane bump of the axial magnetic field profile. Slow ion cyclotron waves excited by the slot propagate down a magnetic beach to ion cyclotron resonance layers located on either side of the bump where the RF power is strongly damped by the ions. Two different theoretical models are being used to study the efficiency of coupling to slow waves in this configuration. Wave propagation models which are based on the infinite plasma dispersion relation for a cold plasma indicate that radially propagating left hand polarized slow waves are converted to right hand polarized fast waves at the Alfven resonance layer due to the radial density gradient. If this were to occur we would expect a lower coupling efficiency to the ions in the plasma core. On the other hand, a nonlocal kinetic model of RF wave propagation in a nonuniform plasma slab indicates that significant left hand component of the electric field extends beyond the Alfven resonance layer. Preliminary experimental measurements of the radial inductive field profile agree qualitatively with the predictions of the cold plasma model, however, there is insufficient data at this time time to establish that a density limit for slow wave accessibility to the plasma core exists