Rayleigh-Taylor growth stabilization in direct-drive plastic targets at laser intensities of ∼1x1015 W/cm2

Direct-drive, planar-target Rayleigh-Taylor growth experiments were performed for the first time to test fundamental physics in hydrocodes at peak drive intensities of ignition designs. The unstable modulation growth at a drive intensity of similar to 1x10(15) W/cm(2) was strongly stabilized compared to the growth at an intensity of similar to 5x10(14) W/cm(2). The experiments demonstrate that standard simulations based on a local model of electron thermal transport break down at peak intensities of ignition designs (although they work well at lower intensities). The preheating effects by nonlocal electron transport and hot electrons were identified as some of the stabilizing mechanisms.