Comparison of the theory and the practice of lower-hybrid current drive

Abstract

The theory of rf-driven plasma currents is applied to the lower-hybrid experiments on the Princeton Large Torus, Princeton University, tokamak. Particular emphasis is placed on those experiments in which the plasma current was varying. The comparison between theory and experiment is made with respect to the efficiency with which rf energy was converted to poloidal magnetic field energy. Good agreement is found irrespective of whether the current was increasing, constant, or decreasing.