ION HEATING EFFECTS IN LHCD SUSTAINED LOW DENSITY TOKAMAK PLASMAS

In low density (～10¹⁸ cm^-3) plasmas sustained by lower hybrid current drive in the high magnetic field superconducting tokamak Triam-1M (Kyushu University, Japan), high ion temperature has been frequently observed by an NEA diagnostic. The experimental phenomena are briefly described and analyzed in the paper. It is suggested by the analysis that the high ion temperature of the low density tokamak plasmas is attributed to ion Landau damping of lower hybrid wave.