Studies of high frequency hot ion instabilities by means of correlation ECE on Tore Supra

High frequency (> 100 kHz) modes have been observed for the first time in combined LHCD and ICR-heated minority H (D) plasmas on Tore Supra by means of a correlation ECE diagnostic and by fluctuation reflectometers. These modes have been identified as the toroidicity-induced Alfven eigenmodes (TAEs) that are destabilized by fast minority hydrogen ions with energies above 250 keV. In reversed central shear plasmas with non-linear oscillations of the central temperature, evolution of the TAE frequency is linked to the development of the local safety factor. This confirms that the central temperature and the q-profile evolve as a non-linearly coupled system in the so-called O-regime in Tore Supra.