Eigenmode formations of<i>m</i>= 1 fast Alfvén waves in the ion-cyclotron frequency range in the GAMMA 10 central cell

The formation of eigenmodes with the m = 1 fast Alfven waves in the ion-cyclotron range of frequency are investigated in the axisymmetric central cell of the GAMMA 10 tandem mirror. When the fast waves with frequencies near the fundamental ion-cyclotron frequency have been used for the plasma production, the saturation in the density has been observed. The spatial structure of the excited wave field is calculated in the central cell using a two-dimensional full wave code. The results of numerical analysis indicate that the increase in plasma density depends strongly on the eigenmode formations associated with the boundary conditions. The results of numerical analysis are compared with the results of measurements of the waves with magnetic probes. A very good degree of agreement is found between the theoretical results and the experimental results. It is suggested that the simultaneous excitation of several radial eigenmodes with high-harmonic fast waves is effective for higher density plasma production.