Effects of particle trapping on distortion of the distribution function of RF-heated minority ions in a tokamak plasma

The effect of toroidal geometry upon the distribution function of weakly RF-heated minority ions in a tokamak plasma is considered. An analytic scheme to solve the corresponding bounce-averaged Fokker-Planck equation is developed and explicit solutions are given in the limits of high and low velocities. It is found that trapped-particle effects may significantly reduce the RF-induced anisotropy in the distribution function.