Kinetic effects on Rayleigh-Taylor instability

Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) is important in a variety of flows, including inertial confinement fusion (ICF). During the coasting stage of ICF, RTI develops between the hot spot and colder surrounding plasma, due to the large temperature and density difference. RTI plays a significant role in the loss of compression and target performance in ICF. In the present study, we investigate non-equilibrium effects on the growth of RTI, using a gas-kinetic method with a modified flux reconstruction procedure, for a more accurate implementation of acceleration effects. We perform high-resolution simulations of RTI, for different parameter regimes. Characteristics of mixing layer fronts on the heavy and light fluid sides and changes compared to the continuum limit are studied under the effects of non-equilibrium thermodynamics. Further investigation of the departures from the Navier-Stokes limit are done using detailed turbulence diagnostics.