Analysis of ion temperature gradient modes in high β plasmas with sheared slab configuration model

A set of integral equations is developed to study drift instabilities in any beta (plasma pressure/magnetic pressure) plasmas with the sheared slab magnetic configuration model. Both components of the perturbed vector potential, (A) over tilde (parallel to) and (A) over tilde (perpendicular to), are considered in the equations, as well as the perturbation of the electrostatic potential phi. The magnetic gradient drift effects are taken into account. The ion temperature gradient modes are analyzed and found to be unstable in the high beta regime. The stability of the high beta modes is very sensitive to the mode frequency. The lower frequency modes are more difficult to be stabilized since the beta effects cannot effectively change the frequency and then the particle-wave interaction in the lower frequency regime. The magnetic shear is shown to have strong stabilizing effects on the high beta modes. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.