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Plasma wakefields, whether driven by laser or particle bunch, possess a stable, coherent, and robust structure that can accelerate particles to high energy. Wakefields derive these remarkably properties from a single physical principle: waves with a phase velocity much higher than the bulk speed of a population particles will not strongly couple to the particles. Instead, a small subset of particles are captured by the wake and coherently accelerated to high energy. In typical applications of wakefield acceleration, this property is harnessed to accelerate electrons, but extends widely into other applications. Notably, ion-cyclotron waves in fusion plasmas, when possessed of a fast phase velocity, can generate a fast-ion tail that can dramatically enhance fusion yield without increasing the bulk ion temperature, as has been observed in the C-2U experiment. The first part of this work explores this phenomenon, examining the physics of beam-driven ion-cyclotron waves in the context of the scrape-off-layer (SOL) of a field-reversed-configuration (FRC) plasma. In particular, the nonlinear mechanics of ion acceleration by these waves is examined. Interestingly, this principle of phase velocity can be just as useful when violated. In the field of laser-wakefield acceleration (LWFA), in the regime of near-critical density plasmas, the physics of wakefield acceleration transitions into a sheath acceleration, which is potentially capable of generating a large flux of low-energy electrons. The application of this principle to a novel method of internal cancer therapy is treated in the second part of this work.

This paper summarizes highlights of research results from the Alcator C-Mod tokamak covering the period 2006-2008. Active flow drive, using mode converted ion cyclotron waves, has been observed for the first time in a tokamak plasma, using a mix of D and He-3 ion species; toroidal and poloidal flows are driven near the location of the mode conversion layer. ICRF induced edge sheaths are implicated in both the erosion of thin boron coatings and the generation of metallic impurities. Lower hybrid range of frequencies (LHRF) microwaves have been used for efficient current drive, current profile modification and toroidal flow drive. In addition, LHRF has been used to modify the H-mode pedestal, increasing temperature, decreasing density and lowering the pedestal collisionality. Studies of hydrogen isotope retention in solid metallic plasma facing components reveal significantly higher retention than expected from ex situ laboratory studies; a model to explain the results, based on plasma/neutral induced lattice damage, has been developed and tested. During gas-puff mitigation of disruptions, induced MHD instabilities cause the magnetic field to become stochastic, resulting in reduction of halo currents, spreading of plasma power loading and loss of runaway electrons before they cause damage. Detailed pedestal rotation profile measurements have been used to infer E-r profiles, and correlation with global H-mode confinement. An improved L-mode regime, obtained at q(95)

Radio frequency (RF) heating experiments have recently been conducted in JET (He-3)-H plasmas. This type of plasmas will be used in ITER's non-activated operation phase. Whereas a companion paper in this same PPCF issue will discuss the RF heating scenario's at half the nominal magnetic field, this paper documents the heating performance in (He-3)-H plasmas at full field, with fundamental cyclotron heating of He-3 as the only possible ion heating scheme in view of the foreseen ITER antenna frequency bandwidth. Dominant electron heating with global heating efficiencies between 30% and 70% depending on the He-3 concentration were observed and mode conversion (MC) heating proved to be as efficient as He-3 minority heating. The unwanted presence of both He-4 and D in the discharges gave rise to 2 MC layers rather than a single one. This together with the fact that the location of the high-field side fast wave (FW) cutoff is a sensitive function of the parallel wave number and that one of the locations of the wave confluences critically depends on the He-3 concentration made the interpretation of the results, although more complex, very interesting: three regimes could be distinguished as a function of X[He-3]: (i) a regime at low concentration (X[He-3] < 1.8%) at which ion cyclotron resonance frequency (ICRF) heating is efficient, (ii) a regime at intermediate concentrations (1.8 < X[He-3] < 5%) in which the RF performance is degrading and ultimately becoming very poor, and finally (iii) a good heating regime at He-3 concentrations beyond 6%. In this latter regime, the heating efficiency did not critically depend on the actual concentration while at lower concentrations (X[He-3] < 4%) a bigger excursion in heating efficiency is observed and the estimates differ somewhat from shot to shot, also depending on whether local or global signals are chosen for the analysis. The different dynamics at the various concentrations can be traced back to the presence of 2 MC layers and their associated FW cutoffs residing inside the plasma at low He-3 concentration. One of these layers is approaching and crossing the low-field side plasma edge when 1.8 < X[He-3] < 5%. Adopting a minimization procedure to correlate the MC positions with the plasma composition reveals that the different behaviors observed are due to contamination of the plasma. Wave modeling not only supports this interpretation but also shows that moderate concentrations of D-like species significantly alter the overall wave behavior in He-3-H plasmas. Whereas numerical modeling yields quantitative information on the heating efficiency, analytical work gives a good description of the dominant underlying wave interaction physics.

Recent JET experiments have been devoted to the study of (He-3)-D plasmas involving radio frequency (RF) heating. This paper starts by discussing the RF heating efficiency theoretically expected in such plasmas, covering both relevant aspects of wave and of particle dynamics. Then it gives a concise summary of the main conclusions drawn from recent experiments that were either focusing on studying RF heating physics aspects or that were adopting RF heating as a tool to study plasma behavior. Depending on the minority concentration chosen, different physical phenomena are observed. At very low concentration (X[He-3] < 1%), energetic tails are formed which trigger MHD activity and result in loss of fast particles. Alfven cascades were observed and gamma ray tomography indirectly shows the impact of sawtooth crashes on the fast particle orbits. Low concentration (X[He-3] < 10%) favors minority heating while for X[He-3] >> 10% electron mode conversion damping becomes dominant. Evidence for the Fuchs et al standing wave effect (Fuchs et al 1995 Phys. Plasmas 2 1637-47) on the absorption is presented. RF induced deuterium tails were observed in mode conversion experiments with large X[He-3] (approximate to 18%). As tentative modeling shows, the formation of these tails can be explained as a consequence of wave power absorption by neutral beam particles that efficiently interact with the waves well away from the cold D cyclotron resonance position as a result of their substantial Doppler shift. As both ion and electron RF power deposition profiles in (He-3)-D plasmas are fairly narrow-giving rise to localized heat sources-the RF heating method is an ideal tool for performing transport studies. Various of the experiments discussed here were done in plasmas with internal transport barriers (ITBs). ITBs are identified as regions with locally reduced diffusivity, where poloidal spinning up of the plasma is observed. The present know-how on the role of RF heating for impurity transport is also briefly summarized.