The linear Rayleigh-Taylor instability with foams
Abstract
We analyse the behaviour of the linear phase of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) in the presence of a foam. Such a problem may be relevant, for example, to some inertial confinement fusion (ICF) scenarios such as foams within the capsule or lining the inner hohlraum wall. The foam displays 3 different phases: by order of increasing stress, it is first elastic, then plastic, and then fractures. Only the elastic and plastic phases can be subject to a linear analysis of the instability. The growth rate is analytically computed in these 2 phases, in terms of the micro-structure of the foam. In the first, elastic, phase, the RTI can be stabilized for some wavelengths. In this elastic phase, a homogenous foam model overestimates the growth because it ignores the elastic nature of the foam. Although this result is derived for a simplified foam model, it is likely valid for most of them. Besides the ICF context considered here, our results could be relevant for many fields of science.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2510.27518,
title = {The linear Rayleigh-Taylor instability with foams},
author = {Antoine Bret and Audrey DeVault and Skylar Dannhoff and Maria Gatu Johnson and Chikang Li and Johan Frenje},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2510.27518},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
9 pages, to appear in Physical Review E