Vortex ring ejection from shocked interfaces in high-energy-density flows

Vortex rings abound in shocked interfacial flows, and their importance in inertial confinement fusion (ICF), supernovae, and the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI) is only beginning to be understood. Such a ring forms when a shock passes through an interface with a heavy-material protrusion, the dynamics of which are captured by our theory generalizing classical scaling laws from fluid dynamics. Our computational results indicate that the energy transported by the ring saturates at a critical protrusion aspect ratio, and our ongoing campaign at the Omega-EP laser captures the dynamics of these vortex rings in unprecedented detail. The scaling uncovered by this systematic study of vortex rings in a high-energy-density regime will inform mix mitigation strategies in ICF, especially with respect to the fill tube, surface pits, and voids, and improve our understanding of turbulent transition in the RMI.