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Updated: May 18, 2026

Magnetically Induced Rotating Rayleigh-Taylor Instability
Published on: March 3, 2017
First measurements of Rayleigh-Taylor-induced magnetic fields in laser-produced plasmas
M J-E Manuel1, C K Li, F H Séguin
1Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Abstract:
The first experimental demonstration of Rayleigh-Taylor-induced magnetic fields due to the Biermann battery effect has been made. Experiments with laser-irradiated plastic foils were performed to investigate these illusive fields using a monoenergetic proton radiography system. Path-integrated B field strength measurements were inferred from radiographs and found to increase from 10 to 100 T μm during the linear growth phase for 120 μm perturbations. Proton fluence modulations were corrected for Coulomb scattering using measured areal density profiles from x-ray radiographs.
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