Excitation of Large-[ital k][sub [theta]] Ion-Bernstein Waves in Tokamaks

The mode-converted ion-Bernstein wave excited in tokamaks is shown to exhibit certain very interesting behaviors, including the attainment of very small poloidal phase velocities, the reversal of poloidal direction, and up-down asymmetries in propagation and damping. Because of these effects, this wave holds promise for channeling [alpha]-particle power to ions, something that would make a tokamak fusion reactor far more attractive than presently envisioned.