Rayleigh-Taylor Instabilities in Laser-Accelerated Targets

Numerical studies of the ablation-driven Rayleigh-Taylor instability in laser-accelerated targets show growth rates typically within a factor of 2 of the classical growth rate. The appearance of ''Kelvin-Helmholtz'' instability depends on the form of the initial perturbation and also on the laser irradiance. Perturbations of the target surface and laser irradiation are simulated and compared.