Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities in high-energy density settings on the National Ignition Facility

Abstract

The Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) instability occurs at an interface between two fluids of differing density during an acceleration. These instabilities can occur in very diverse settings, from inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions over spatial scales of ∼10−3− 10−1 cm (10–1,000 µm) to supernova explosions at spatial scales of ∼1012 cm and larger. We describe experiments and techniques for reducing (“stabilizing”) RT growth in high-energy density (HED) settings on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Three unique regimes of stabilization are described: (i) at an ablation front, (ii) behind a radiative shock, and (iii) due to material strength. For comparison, we also show results from nonstabilized “classical” RT instability evolution in HED regimes on the NIF. Examples from experiments on the NIF in each regime are given. These phenomena also occur in several astrophysical scenarios and planetary science [Drake R (2005) Plasma Phys Controlled Fusion 47:B419–B440; Dahl TW, Stevenson DJ (2010) Earth Planet Sci Lett 295:177–186].