Current drive, anticurrent drive, and balanced injection

In lower hybrid (LH) discharges, the number of suprathermal electrons is limited by the upper bound on the current density from the q = 1 condition, which is caused by the onset of the m = 1 MHD instability. The stored energy of suprathermal electrons, measured in terms of a poloidal beta, scales with plasma current as I/sub p//sup -1/. Potentially, these bounds represent very restrictive conditions for heating in larger machines. Consequently, it seems necessary to perform experiments where the electrons are driven in both directions, parallel and antiparallel to the magnetic field, i.e., bidirectional scenarios like anticurrent drive or balanced injection. Data from PLT relevant to these ideas are discussed. 6 refs., 4 figs