Full-wave evaluation of RF absorption in NSTX, with accuracy to all orders in Larmor radius

RF heating scenarios for the magnetic geometry of NSTX are investigated using the most recent version of the METS RF analysis tool. This 1-D tool includes the full Bessel function expansion of the plasma dielectric tensor, and thus provides accuracy to all orders in Larmor radius, making it ideal for the full-wave analysis of heating at higher harmonics. A recent upgrade to the tool permits the study of the magnetic well geometry of NSTX. Other upgrades allow for realistic variation of local poloidal field and shear profile. Temperature anisotropy and nonzero rotation velocity are also treated properly. Ultimately, it is highly desirable that a 2-D full-wave solution, which is similarly complete in the Larmor expansion, be performed to better understand the 2-D power deposition profile for NSTX. Present thoughts on how to make this feasible are outlined, and new methods for treating the problem of passing-particle absorption and multi-pass correlation are also presented.