Abstract
The plasma density profile close to RF actuators plays a vital role in the efficiency of power coupling from the antenna to the core plasma of fusion devices. Nonlinear interactions can be significant when considering the interaction of applied RF power and the tenuous SOL plasma, and the inclusion of this region in computational analysis is essential to providing robust predictive simulations of plasma response to RF application. Of particular interest is the observed density modification during RF operation. Here we present a self consistent description of the nonlinear ponderomotive force in the antenna near field region, via coupling a 1D field aligned transport model with a 1D cold plasma wave model. Results are presented, which show a parallel electric field of 300 Vm−1 drove a density reduction of ∼ 20% over 25 RF periods.
