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arXiv · 1404.1260

Laser-Driven Rayleigh-Taylor Instability: Plasmonics Effects and Three-Dimensional Structures

Andrea Sgattoni·Stefano Sinigardi·Luca Fedeli·Francesco Pegoraro·Andrea Macchi
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Abstract

The acceleration of dense targets driven by the radiation pressure of high-intensity lasers leads to a Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) with rippling of the interaction surface. Using a simple model it is shown that the self-consistent modulation of the radiation pressure caused by a sinusoidal rippling affects substantially the wavevector spectrum of the RTI depending on the laser polarization. The plasmonic enhancement of the local field when the rippling period is close to a laser wavelength sets the dominant RTI scale. The nonlinear evolution is investigated by three dimensional simulations, which show the formation of stable structures with "wallpaper" symmetry.

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Andrea Sgattoni, Stefano Sinigardi, Luca Fedeli, Francesco Pegoraro, Andrea Macchi. 2014-04-04. Laser-Driven Rayleigh-Taylor Instability: Plasmonics Effects and Three-Dimensional Structures. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.91.013106

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