Kinetic processes in plasma heating by resonant mode conversion of Alfvén wave

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Abstract
An externally applied oscillating magnetic field (at a frequency near 1 MHz for typical tokamak parameters) resonantly mode converts to the kinetic Alfvén wave, the Alfvén wave with the perpendicular wavelength comparable to the ion gyroradius. The kinetic Alfvén wave, while it propagates into the higher density side of the plasma after the mode conversion, dissipates due to both linear and nonlinear processes and heats the plasma. If a magnetic field of 50 G effective amplitude is applied, approximately 10 MJ per cubic meter of energy can be deposited in 1 sec into the plasma. The heating rate here is faster than that in the transit time magnetic pumping by a factor of β−1.