Observation of Rayleigh-Taylor-instability evolution in a plasma with magnetic and viscous effects.

Abstract

We present time-resolved observations of Rayleigh-Taylor-instability (RTI) evolution at the interface between an unmagnetized plasma jet colliding with a stagnated, magnetized plasma. The observed instability growth time (∼10 μs) is consistent with the estimated linear RTI growth rate calculated using experimentally inferred values of density (∼10(14) cm(-3)) and deceleration (∼10(9) m/s(2)). The observed mode wavelength (≳1 cm) nearly doubles within a linear growth time. Theoretical estimates of magnetic and viscous stabilization and idealized magnetohydrodynamic simulations including a physical viscosity model both suggest that the observed instability evolution is subject to magnetic and/or viscous effects.