Wave Dispersion and Resonant Deposition Profiles of Electron-Cyclotron Gaussian Beams in Toroidal plasmas

A peculiarity of the quasi-optical propagation of a Gaussian beam of electromagnetic waves is that it requires a treatment taking account, step by step, of all of its rays together. The dispersion relation from which such a ray tracing may be deduced is in fact characterized not only by the medium where the beam is launched but also by the intrinsic beam structure. The behaviour of three-dimensional Gaussian beams in the electron-cyclotron frequency range is considered, with particular attention paid to their propagation in toroidal plasmas of fusion interest (with ITER-like parameters and various magnetic equilibrium configurations), to the generality of their launching conditions and to their power deposition profiles around resonant layers.