Shock Driven, Discrete Vortices on Oblique Interfaces*

A shock incident on an interface between two materials will deposit baroclinic vorticity. This vorticity will typically cause any perturbations on the pre-shock interface to grow. The vorticity distribution along the post-shock interface often determines which process dominates the post-shock evolution. Here, we will show that growth dominated by discrete vortices arises from the interaction of a supported shock with a staircase perturbation. We will present theory, xRAGE simulations, and preliminary experimental results in support of this result.