Impact of Toroidal Effect on Lower Hybrid Current Drive in Tokamak

Abstract

The main topics concerning lower hybrid wave heating (LHH) and lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) in tokamak systems are presented. The inherent properties of tokamak systems give the 'gap' filling on Brambilla's spectrum, which are conducive to LHCD, but, on the other hand, induce a consumption of wave energy by the trapped electrons, which reduce the current drive efficiency. The methods for the enhancement of the current drive efficiency may be derived from detailed analyses by drawing upon the ray tracing technology on toroidal geometry and the Fokker-Planck theory on velocity space.