Abstract
We derive a theoretical model for the Rayleigh–Taylor (RT)‐like instability for a thin foil accelerated by an intense laser, taking into account finite-wavelength effects in the laser wave field. These finite-wavelength effects lead to the diffraction of the electromagnetic wave off the periodic structures arising from the instability of the foil, which significantly modifies the growth rate of the RT-like instability when the perturbations on the foil have wavenumbers comparable to or larger than the laser wavenumber. In particular, the growth rate has a local maximum at a perturbation wavenumber approximately equal to the laser wavenumber. The standard RT instability, arising from a pressure difference between the two sides of a foil, is approximately recovered for perturbation wavenumbers smaller than the laser wavenumber. Differences in the results for circular and linear polarization of the laser light are pointed out. The model has significance for radiation pressure acceleration of thin foils, where RT-like instabilities are significant obstacles.
Highlights
We derive a theoretical model for the Rayleigh-Taylor (RT)-like instability for a thin foil accelerated by an intense laser, taking into account finite wavelength effects in the laser wave field
While the RT instability was originally associated with a heavier fluid on top of a lighter fluid in a gravitational field [10], similar instabilities occur for plasmas confined by magnetic fields (e.g. Ref. [14]), and when a thin foil is accelerated by the pressure difference between the two sides of the foil [1, 2]
Theoretical investigations of the instabilities resulting from the scattering of EM waves off plasma surface perturbations include the RT instability of an over-dense plasma layer [11] using a magnetohydrodynamic-like model for the plasma, and the scattering off surface plasma waves [12] where the electron dynamics is the dominant source of the insta
Summary
We derive a theoretical model for the Rayleigh-Taylor (RT)-like instability for a thin foil accelerated by an intense laser, taking into account finite wavelength effects in the laser wave field. The growth rate of the RT instability fo√r laser accelerated plasma is typically proportional to gk, where g is the acceleration and k the wavenumber of the surface perturbation.
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