NONLINEAR PERTURBATION-THEORY OF THE INCOMPRESSIBLE RICHTMYER-MESHKOVINSTABILITY

A single-mode nonlinear high-order perturbation theory is developed to describe the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability of an impulsively accelera ted interface between an incompressible fluid and a constant supportin g pressure. The nonlinear modification of Richtmyer's formula is prese nted and compared to experimental data with strong radiatively driven shocks, The theory allows a straightforward extension to more general cases of Richtmyer-Meshkov and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities (multimod e, more interfaces, three-dimensional flow, etc.).