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Updated: May 18, 2026

Magnetically Induced Rotating Rayleigh-Taylor Instability
Published on: March 3, 2017
Magnetic field generation by the Rayleigh-Taylor instability in laser-driven planar plastic targets
L Gao1, P M Nilson, I V Igumenschev
1Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14623, USA.
Abstract:
Magnetic fields generated by the Rayleigh-Taylor instability were measured in laser-accelerated planar foils using ultrafast proton radiography. Thin plastic foils were irradiated with ∼4-kJ, 2.5-ns laser pulses focused to an intensity of ∼10(14) W/cm(2) on the OMEGA EP Laser System. Target modulations were seeded by laser nonuniformities and amplified during target acceleration by the Rayleigh-Taylor instability. The experimental data show the hydrodynamic evolution of the target and MG-level magnetic fields generated in the broken foil. The experimental data are in good agreement with predictions from 2-D magnetohydrodynamic simulations.
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