ICRF Heating in Magnetic Mirror Plasmas

Waves in the ion cyclotron range of frequency are efficiently used to produce and heat magnetic mirror plasmas. In relatively low-density (lower than 10[sup 18]m[sup –3]) plasmas, the fast Alfvén eigenmodes are formed in radial and axial directions and the excitation of these modes is strongly affected by the density. The slow Alfvén waves are also effectively used for plasma heating. The ion temperature above 10 keV is achieved, which is confirmed by the detection of fusion neutrons. The excitation of Alfvén eigenmodes is studied in the GAMMA 10 tandem mirror.