36 / 2026-03-11 03:27:59

Instabilities of fusion plasmas: Interface dynamics and flow fields’ structure

fusion,instability,mixing,stabilization,ablation

Interfaces and interfacial mixing and their far from equilibrium dynamics couple micro to macro scales, and are ubiquitous to occur in materials at extreme states matter, including plasmas under conditions of high energy density. Inertial confinement fusion, stellar evolution, and nanofabrication are few examples of many processes to which dynamics of interfaces is directly relevant.



This talk presents the rigorous theory of stability of an interface – a phase boundary broadly defined. It is applicable in a wide range of conditions, including the matter at the extremes.

We start from outlining prior approaches for modeling ablative Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities. We formulate the rigorous theoretical framework describing the interface dynamics at a high level of abstraction and making it workable in vastly distinct settings. We directly link the structure of macroscopic volumetric fields to microscopic interfacial transports, quantify the contributions of macroscopic and microscopic stabilization mechanisms to the interface stability, and discover the instabilities never previously discussed.

We find: In either ideal or realistic fluids, the interface stability is set primarily by the interplay of the macroscopic inertial mechanism balancing the destabilizing acceleration, whereas microscopic thermodynamics and heat flux create vortical fields in the bulk. By linking micro to macro scales, the interface is the place where balances are achieved.

The rigorous theory of the interface dynamics is consistent with the outputs of the prior models of ablative Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities in certain limiting cases. The rigorous theory expands beyond the scope of prior models and suggests the insights never discussed before to achieve a better control and a higher gain of the inertial confinement fusion.

Interfaces and interfacial mixing and their far from equilibrium dynamics couple micro to macro scales, and are ubiquitous to occur in materials at extreme states matter, including plasmas under conditions of high energy density. Inertial confinement fusion, stellar evolution, and nanofabrication are few examples of many processes to which dynamics of interfaces is directly relevant.



This talk presents the rigorous theory of stability of an interface – a phase boundary broadly defined. It is applicable in a wide range of conditions, including the matter at the extremes.

We start from outlining prior approaches for modeling ablative Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities. We formulate the rigorous theoretical framework describing the interface dynamics at a high level of abstraction and making it workable in vastly distinct settings. We directly link the structure of macroscopic volumetric fields to microscopic interfacial transports, quantify the contributions of macroscopic and microscopic stabilization mechanisms to the interface stability, and discover the instabilities never previously discussed.



We find for either ideal or realistic fluids: The interface stability is set primarily by the interplay of the macroscopic inertial mechanism balancing the destabilizing acceleration, whereas microscopic thermodynamics and heat flux create vortical fields in the bulk. By linking micro to macro scales, the interface is the place where balances are achieved.



The rigorous theory of the interface dynamics is consistent with the outputs of the prior models of ablative Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities in certain limiting cases. The rigorous theory expands beyond the scope of prior models and suggests the insights never discussed before to achieve a better control and a higher gain of the inertial confinement fusion.