Simulation of Refraction Enhanced Radiography (RER) of Hydrodynamic Instabilities

The rise of Richtmyer-Meshkov and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities during indirect drive capsule implosion experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is known to increase layer mixing and limit ignition¹. To study the growth and development of these instabilities, spatial image resolution needs to approach the single micron level². X-ray Refraction Enhanced Radiography (RER) provides enhanced image contrast compared to traditional, absorption-only radiography³. Direct measurements of density gradients during dynamic high energy density experiments at NIF have already been performed^4,5. RER’s enhanced contrast makes it a potential tool to image smaller length scales in hydrodynamic instabilities. Work towards applying a wave propagation code to generate RER images of simulated instabilities is presented, along with an analysis of the optimal imaging setup to achieve the desired photometrics.



[1] S.R. Nagel et al., Phys. Plasmas, 29, 032308 (2022).

[2] A. Do et al., Phys. Plasmas, 29, 080703 (2022)

[3] D.S. Montgomery, Rev. Sci. Instrum, 94, 021103 (2023).

[4] E.L. Dewald et al., High En. Dens. Phys., 36, 100795 (2020).

[5] Jiang, S. et al., Commun. Phys., 6, 98 (2023).