Laser-driven Rayleigh-Taylor strength measurements in solid copper at extreme conditions along two different adiabatic paths

We study copper strength at extreme conditions by using Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) strength instability experiments on the Omega EP laser facility. We create two different adiabatic paths by two different pulse shapes; one at ~4500K and another at ~800K, while their peak pressures are kept at ~150 GPa. The pulse shapes are designed not to melt the copper sample thus the strength measurements are valid. The strength is inferred by suppression of the RT growth of pre-imposed ripples by analyzing face-on radiographic images. We use three different methods to understand the systematic error of the growth factor measurements. The experimental results will be described in comparison with the commonly used Steinberg-Guinan model.

*This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DEAC52-07NA27344