Magnetic drift kinetic damping of the resistive wall mode in large aspect ratio tokamaks

An analytical, large aspect ratio, calculation of the drift-kinetic energy perturbation is carried out for the resistive wall mode, due to the mode resonance with the magnetic precession drifts of trapped thermal ions and electrons. Four asymptotic cases are identified and analyzed in detail. Generally, a partial stabilization of the mode is possible thanks to the kinetic correction to the perturbed plasma energy. A complete stabilization can occur only in a narrow space of the plasma equilibrium parameters. Kinetic destabilization of the mode is also possible due to a finite pressure correction to the precession drift frequency. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.