High-order coupling of shear and sonic continua in JET plasmas

Abstract

Abstract A recent model coupling the shear-Alfvén and acoustic continua, which depends strongly on the equilibrium shaping and on elongation in particular, is employed to explain the properties of Alfvénic activity observed on JET plasmas below but close to the typical frequency of toroidicity-induced Alfvén eigenmodes (TAEs). The frequency gaps predicted by the model result from high-order harmonics of the geodesic field-line curvature caused by plasma shaping (as opposed to lower-order toroidicity) and give rise to high-order geodesic acoustic eigenmodes (HOGAEs), their frequency value being close to one-half of the TAEs one. The theoretical predictions of HOGAE frequency and radial location are found to be in fair agreement with measurements in JET experiments, including magnetic, reflectometry and soft x-ray data. The stability of the observed HOGAEs is evaluated with the linear hybrid magnetohydrodynamic/drift-kinetic code CASTOR-K, taking into account the energetic-ion populations produced by neutral beam injection and ion cyclotron resonance heating systems. Wave-particle resonances, along with drive/damping mechanisms, are also discussed in order to understand the conditions leading to HOGAEs destabilisation in JET plasmas.