It is shown that it is possible to accelerate micro-foils to velocities from 108 cm/s up to relativistic velocities without the disturbance of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability. The acceleration occurs due to the radiation pressure of proper high power lasers. In these systems, the ablation force is negligible relative to the ponderomotive force that dominates the acceleration. The laser irradiances of 1017 W/cm2 < IL < 1021 W/cm2 with a pulse duration of the order of 10 picoseconds can accelerate a micro-foil by the laser radiation pressure to velocities as high as 109 cm/s before breaking by Rayleigh Taylor (RT) instability. Similarly, laser irradiances of IL > 1021 W/cm2 with pulse duration of the order of 10 femtoseconds can accelerate a micro-foil to relativistic velocities without RT breaking. Due to the nature of the accelerating ponderomotive force, in both the relativistic and non-relativistic cases, the structure of the accelerated target contains a double layer (DL) at the interface of the laser-target interaction. The DL acts as a piston during the acceleration process. The influence of the DL surface tension on the RT instability is also analyzed in this paper.

The Rayleigh-Taylor instability is a key process in many fields of Physics ranging from astrophysics to inertial confinement fusion. It is usually analyzed deriving the linearized fluid equations, but the physics behind the instability is not always clear. Recent works on this instability allow for an very intuitive understanding of the phenomenon and for a straightforward calculation of the linear growth rate. In this Letter, it is shown that the same reasoning allows for a direct derivation of the relativistic expression of the linear growth rate for an incompressible fluid.

This paper examines the necessity of including ion viscosity in modeling laser fusion implosions. Using the Naval Research Laboratory one-half Mega Joule laser fusion target as an example, it is shown that for virtually the entire implosion up to maximum compression, and the entire rebound after the implosion, ion viscosity is unimportant. However for about half a nanosecond before peak implosion, ion viscosity can have a significant, but by no means dominant effect on both the one-dimensional flow and on the Rayleigh-Taylor instability.

Numerical simulations of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability in the interface of two semi-infinite media have been performed based on the finite element method. Two different interfaces have been considered: elastic solid/elastic solid and elastic solid/viscous fluid. The results have been compared with previously published analytical models. In particular, the asymptotic growth rate has been compared with the model by Terrones (2005) while the initial transient phase is compared with the model by Piriz et al. (2005). Finally, some examples show the importance of such an initial transient phase if more realistic material laws (for example, elastoplastic behavior) are taken into account.

We perform the analysis of the Rayleigh–Taylor instability of thin perfectly elastic solid plates using the analytical approach recently developed by Piriz and coworkers. The model describes the evolution of the perturbation amplitude from the initial conditions and at relatively long times it yields the asymptotic growth rate. It applies to solid/inviscid fluid interfaces. For the particular case of solid/vacuum interface, the model has been compared with the exact results by Plohr and Sharp and an excellent agreement has been found. In general, thinner plates are found to be more unstable and, in the presence of a fluid below the elastic plate, the growth rate is reduced.

We report on the pulsed laser ablation of aluminum (Al) plasma in presence of ambient nitrogen to understand the formation of aluminum nitride (AlN). Formation of carbon nitride (CN) and titanium oxide (TiO) by pulsed laser-ablation of graphite and titanium targets in presence of ambient nitrogen and oxygen is also compared. We discuss the dynamics of plasma expansion based on existing models, shock and drag models, and the plasma gas interface distortion, Rayleigh-Taylor instability at various ambient pressures of nitrogen. Since Rayleigh-Taylor instability may give rise to self-generated magnetic field in the plasma, an attempt is made to understand the mechanism of generation as well as the estimation of this field near the focal spot using the information from the images of the expanding plasma. This is the first time images of the expanding plume are used to estimate self generated magnetic fields. At the irradiance level used in the experiment the field is high very close to the target surface therefore we expect splitting of the energy levels thus giving rise to emissions that may be anisotropic in nature. We discuss the extent of anisotropy by measuring the degree of polarization using emission intensity in optical emission spectrum of selected Al III transition 4s 2S1/2–4p 2P3/2o at 569.6 nm using both nanosecond and picosecond pulses.

The Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) of a continuously stratified fluid has implications on the stability of solar and planetary interiors. A nonlinear stage of the two-dimensional RTI is studied by including various effects. By using the multiple scale method, we derived a nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) in 2+1 dimensions. We show the general soliton solutions of the NLSE and this allows to discuss their stability.