Rayleigh-Taylor instability growth rates in targets accelerated with a laser beam smoothed by induced spatial incoherence

Abstract

Growth rates of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability in foils accelerated with a laser beam smoothed by induced spatial incoherence were measured and compared with hydrodynamic code simulations. Modes with 150- and 100-\ensuremath{\mu}m wavelengths grew at predicted rates. However, no growth was experimentally observed at a 50-\ensuremath{\mu}m wavelength. Code simulations suggest that induced spatial incoherence can influence the 50-\ensuremath{\mu}m Rayleigh-Taylor mode by delaying the start of its growth.