lasnex simulations of the classical and laser-driven Rayleigh-Taylor instability

We present the results of two-dimensional lasnex simulations of the classical and laser-driven Rayleigh-Taylor instability. Our growth rates and eigenmodes for classical two- and three-fluid problems agree closely with the exact analytic expressions. We illustrate in several examples how perturbations feed through from one interface to another. For targets driven by a 1/4-{μ}m laser at I=2×{}10¹⁴ W/cm² our growth rates are 40--80 % of the classical case rates for wavelengths between 5 and 100 {μ}m. We find that radiation transport has a stabilizing effect on the Rayleigh-Taylor instability, particularly at high intensities. A brief comparison with a laser-driven experiment is also presented.