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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Magnetically Induced Rotating Rayleigh-Taylor Instability
Published on: March 3, 2017
Observation of a velocity domain cooling instability in a radiative shock
M Hohenberger1, D R Symes, J Lazarus
1Laser Consortium, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom. M.Hohenberger04@Imperial.ac.uk
Abstract:
We report on experimental investigations into strong, laser-driven, radiative shocks in cluster media. Cylindrical shocks launched with several joules of deposited energy exhibit strong radiative effects including rapid deceleration, radiative preheat, and shell thinning. Using time-resolved propagation data from single-shot streaked Schlieren measurements, we have observed temporal modulations on the shock velocity, which we attribute to the thermal cooling instability, a process which is believed to occur in supernova remnants but until now has not been observed experimentally.
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