  In this work, the FALCON code is adopted for illustrating the features of
shear Alfv\'en and continuous spectra in toroidal fusion plasmas. The FALCON
codes employs the local Floquet analysis discussed in [Phys. of Plasmas
\textbf{26} (8), 082502 (2019)] for computing global structures of continuous
spectra in general toroidal geometry. As particular applications, reference
equilibria for the Divertor Tokamak Test and ASDEX Upgrade plasmas are
considered. In particular, we illustrate the importance of mode polarization
for recognizing the physical relevance of the various branches of the
continuous spectra in the ideal MHD limit. We also analyze the effect of plasma
compression and the validity of the slow sound approximation.

Plasma Physics