Wave excitation in magnetically confined plasmas with an anisotropic velocity distribution

Ichimura, Makoto*; Higaki, Hiroyuki*; Kakimoto, Shingo*; Yamaguchi, Yusuke*; Nemoto, Kenju*; Katano, Makoto*; Kozawa, Isao*; Muro, Taishi*; Ishikawa, Masao; Moriyama, Shinichi; Suzuki, Takahiro; Watanabe, Tsuguhiro*; Chujo, T.*

In magnetically confined plasmas, fluctuations in the ion cyclotron range of frequency (ICRF) will be driven by the presence of non-thermal ion energy distribution. In strong ICRF heating experiments on the GAMMA 10 tandem mirror, plasmas with a strong temperature anisotropy have been formed. Alfven-ion-cyclotron (AIC) modes are spontaneously excited due to strong temperature anisotropy. High-energy ions are trapped in the local mirror and will form the velocity distribution with the strong anisotropy. To study the relation among the AIC modes, ICEs and beam-driven electrostatic instabilities with non-thermal energy distribution is the main purpose of this work. When the NBs are injected, the magnetic fluctuations due to injected beams and FP ions are detected by ICRF antennas used as pickup loops on JT-60U. The wave excitation near ion cyclotron and its higer harmonic frequencies are studied experimentally and theoretically in plasmas with non-thermal ion energy distribution.