Electron Landau damping of toroidal Alfven eigenmodes

A method to calculate the electron Landau damping of toroidal Alfven eigenmodes (TAE) is presented. Owing to the presence of a small current produced by thermal electrons near the trapped-passing boundary, a jump in the electrostatic potential near the k(parallel to) = 0 surface occurs. An analytic expression for this jump is derived in the low-beta, large-aspect-ratio limit, and is suitable for incorporation into either numerical eigenvalue codes or analytic models. In the limit of small magnetic shear, the calculation is performed analytically, giving a simple local expression for the damping.