Rayleigh-Taylor Instabilities in Laser-Accelerated Targets

Abstract

Numerical studies of the ablation-driven Rayleigh-Taylor instability in laser-accelerated targets show growth rates typically within a factor of 2 of the classical growth rate. The appearance of the "Kelvin-Helmholtz" instability depends on the form of the initial perturbation and also on the laser irradiance. Perturbations of the target surface and laser irradiation are simulated and compared.