Stabilization of Drift Waves by Lower-Hybrid Fields

Stabilization of drift waves by external rf fields at frequencies near the lower-hybrid frequency has been observed experimentally in a $Q$ machine in the collisionless regime with ${\left(\frac{{\omega }_{\mathrm{pe}}}{{\omega }_{\mathrm{ce}}}\right)}^2\ll 1$. Stabilization is due to a resonant ponderomotive force which increases the drift frequency, thus enhancing the electron Landau damping. The observations are in general accord with analyses in the literature when finite-geometry effects appropriate to the present experiment are taken into account.