This study presents the first-principle, structure-preserving electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulation of the lower hybrid wave (LHW) in magnetic mirror-confined plasmas. The behavior of LHW propagation and ion heating is studied and compared with the ray-tracing results. Two full-wave effects of LHW propagation in the mirror devices, the rotation of LHW and tunnel effects near the resonance, are revealed and discussed. Meanwhile, the ion heating near the resonance layer is presented. We first provide the spatial profile of energy deposition in 3D space and conduct a long-term simulation that shows an up to 150% ion temperature increment and a maximal ion temperature of over 1.5 keV in the hot spot at the end. In addition, we further discuss the heating mechanism and elucidate the stochastic ion heating behavior in such a regime. The onset and advantages of such a heating mechanism in terms of the magnetic mirror are also discussed. The results proved the reliability and effectiveness of lower hybrid stochastic heating in mirror devices.
Simultaneous heating by high power lower hybrid waves and neutral beams in the JT-60 tokamak