Excitation of Alfvén modes by energetic particles in magnetic fusion

Ions with energies above the plasma ion temperature (also called super thermal, hot or energetic particles - EP) are utilized in laboratory experiments as a plasma heat source to compensate for energy loss. Sources for super thermal ions are direct injection via neutral beams, RF heating and fusion reactions. Being super thermal, ions have the potential to induce instabilities of a certain class of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) cavity modes, in particular, various Alfvén and Alfvénacoustic Eigenmodes. It is an area where ideal MHD and kinetic theories can be tested with great accuracy. This paper touches upon key motivations to study the energetic ion interactions with MHD modes. One is the possibility of controlling the heating channel of present and future tokamak reactors via EP transport. In some extreme circumstances, uncontrolled instabilities led to vessel wall damages. This paper reviews some experimental and theoretical advances and the developments of the predictive tools in the area of EP wave interactions. Some recent important results and challenges are discussed. Many predicted instabilities pose a challenge for ITER, where the alpha-particle population is likely to excite various modes.