Bell-Plessett effect on harmonic evolution of spherical Rayleigh-Taylor instability in weakly nonlinear scheme for arbitrary Atwood numbers

Based on the harmonic analysis [Liu et al., Phys. Plasmas 22, 112112 (2015)], the analytical investigation on the harmonic evolution in Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) at a spherical interface has been extended to the general case of arbitrary Atwood numbers by using the method of the formal perturbation up to the third order in a small parameter. Our results show that the radius of the initial interface [i.e., Bell-Plessett (BP) effect] dramatically influences the harmonic evolution for arbitrary Atwood numbers. When the initial radius approaches infinity compared against the initial perturbation wavelength, the amplitudes of the first four harmonics will recover those in planar RTI. The BP effect makes the amplitudes of the zeroth, second, and third harmonics increase faster for a larger Atwood number than smaller one. The BP effect reduces the third-order negative feedback to the fundamental mode for a smaller Atwood number, and strengthens it for a larger one. Hence, the BP effect helps the fundamental mode grow faster for a smaller Atwood number. Published by AIP Publishing.