The Alfvén Instability In The Burning Plasma

Alfvén waves and energetic particle physics play an important role in magnetic confinement fusion plasmas. A new type of discrete Alfvén eigenmodes(named ?TAE) are quasi-marginally stable and can be destabilized by energetic particles easily. The object of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor(ITER) is to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion energy for peaceful purposes. ITER is to operate in three possible scenarios. They are inductive operation, steady state operation and hybrid operation, respectively. In this work we adopt the(s,?) [1]model to describe the discrete Alfvén eigenmodes applying a numerical shooting code to solve the relevant equations. The results show the ground state of the Alfvén eigenmodes in each potential well upon the(s,?) profiles; which clearly display the(s,?) dependence of the eigenmode frequencies. The ITER operations are also presented, and both the instability features of ?TAE and the associated kinetic excitations by energetic particles are investigated in the designed operate conditions of ITER experiments. The results indicate that ?TAEs potentially exist in ITER operations and can be destabilized by energetic particles in relatively wide range of experimental parameters.