Atomic Physics Effects on Dissipative Toroidal Drift Wave Stability

The effects of atomic physics processes such as ionization, charge exchange, and radiation on the linear stability of dissipative drift waves are investigated in toroidal geometry both numerically and analytically. For typical TFTR and TEXT edge parameters, overall linear stability is determined by the competition between the destabilizing influence of ionization and the stabilizing effect due to the electron temperature gradient. An analytical expression for the linear marginal stability condition, {eta}{sub e}{sup crit}, is derived. The instability is most likely to occur at the extreme edge of tokamaks with a significant ionization source and a steep electron density gradient