Experimental Investigation of Plasma Heating by a High-Frequency Electric Field near the Electron Cyclotron Resonance in the FM-1 Spherator

Plasma heating due to a high-frequency electric field near the electron cyclotron resonance is investigated in a toroidal plasma confinement device, the FM-1 spherator. It is observed that electrons and ions are heated "anomalously" when the incident high-frequency field exceeds a threshold value. Above the same threshold the parametric decay instability of upper and lower hybrid waves takes place. We investigate the effect of the decay instability and plasma heating on the confinement time.