Rayleigh-Taylor stabilization by material strength at Mbar pressures*

We present experiments on the Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability in the plastic flow regime of solid-state vanadium (V) foils at ~1 Mbar pressures and strain rates of 1.e6-1.e8 1/s, using a laser based, ramped-pressure acceleration technique. High pressure material strength causes strong stabilization of the RT instability at short wavelengths. Comparisons with 2D simulations utilizing models of high pressure strength show that the V strength increases by factors of 3-4 at peak pressure, compared to its ambient strength. An effective lattice viscosity of ~400 poise would have a similar effect. [1] Constitutive models, and theoretical implications of these experiments will be discussed. [1] H.S. Park, B.A. Remington et al., submitted for publication (July, 2009).