ECR HEATING IN L-2M STELLARATOR

The first results of ECH experiments in the L-2M stellarator are prese nted. The main goal of the experiments is to investigate the physics o f ECH and plasma confinement at very high values of the volume heating power density. A current free plasma is produced and heated by extrao rdinary waves at the second harmonic of the electron cyclotron frequen cy. The experimental results are compared with the numerical simulatio ns of plasma confinement and heating processes based on neoclassical t heory using the full matrix of transport coefficients and with LHD-sca ling.