Laser-driven Rayleigh-Taylor instability: Plasmonic effects and three-dimensional structures

Year: 2015

Authors: Sgattoni A., Sinigardi S., Fedeli L., Pegoraro F., Macchi A.

Autors Affiliation: CNR, Ist Nazl Ott, Res Unit Adriano Gozzini, I-56100 Pisa, Italy; Politecn Milan, Dipartimento Energia, I-20133 Milan, Italy; Univ Bologna, Dipartimento Fis & Astron, I-40126 Bologna, Italy; Ist Nazl Fis Nucl, Sez Bologna, I-40127 Bologna, Italy; Univ Pisa, Dipartimento Fis Enrico Fermi, I-56127 Pisa, Italy.

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 wave vector 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.

Journal/Review: PHYSICAL REVIEW E

Volume: 91 (1)      Pages from: 13106-1  to: 13106-6

More Information: We thank P. Londrillo (University of Bologna and INFN, Italy) for help with the ALADYN code and M. Lupetti (Ludwig-Maximilians- Universitaet, Muenchen, Germany), F. Califano (University of Pisa, Italy), and D. Del Sarto (University of Nancy, France) for useful discussions. We acknowledge Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe (PRACE) for access to the BlueGene/Q FERMI, based in Italy at CINECA, via the project LSAIL. Support from Italian Ministry for education, University and Research (MIUR), Italy, via the Futuro in ricerca (FIR) project SULDIS is also acknowledged.
KeyWords: Gratings; Pulses; Symmetry; Surfaces; Waves
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.91.013106

Citations: 68
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