A review of Alfven eigenmode observations in toroidal plasmas

In toroidal magnetically confined plasmas, eigenmodes of Alfven waves can be destablized by energetic ions with velocities comparable to the Alfven velocity. With the advent of tokamak experiments in which populations of energetic ions can be introduced by neutral beam injection, radio frequency wave heating or by fusion reactions, major advances have been made in Alfven eigenmode research in the past 10 years. After introducing the basic concepts on the Alfven eigenmode instability, data on this subject from various toroidal devices are described, emphasizing the interplay between experiment and theory. Experimental results on mode identification, instability drive. mode damping and saturation, and energetic ion redistribution are compared with theory.