Rayleigh-Taylor instability experiments on the LULI2000 laser in scaled conditions for young supernova remnants

We describe a platform developed on the LULI2000 laser facility to investigate the evolution of Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) in scaled conditions relevant to young supernova remnants (SNRs) up to 200 years. An RT unstable interface is imaged with a short-pulse laser-driven (PICO2000) x-ray source, providing an unprecedented simultaneous high spatial ($24\mu \mathrm{m}$) and temporal (10 ps) resolution. This experiment provides relevant data to compare with astrophysical codes, as observational data on the development of RTI at the early stage of the SNR expansion are missing. A comparison is also performed with FLASH radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulations.

Figure 1

Diagram of the experimental setup (left) and details of the multilayer target (right). The target is composed of a CH ablator, a gold layer, a CHBr pusher, and a CH foam-filled tube.

Figure 2

(a) Radiograph of three gold grids (300, 600, and 1000 lines per inch) at target position. (b) Lineout of the border of a grid. A static resolution of $24\mu \mathrm{m}$ is measured [see red (light-gray) arrow].

Figure 3

Comparison of experimental (left) and synthetic (right) radiographies obtained 30 ns after laser drive. The monomode [(a) and (b)] and bimode [(c) and (d)] targets are presented. The mixing zone (MZ) is defined as the distance between peak and bubble.

Figure 4

Experimental interface position (a) and MZ (b) as a function of time, in both monomode and bimode cases, compared with the associated simulations. The time is rescaled by a factor of ${(E/E_0)}^{1/3}$ to remove the variation in drive energy from shot to shot.