Hydrodynamic instability during non-uniform growth of a helium crystal

TL;DR

This paper investigates a hydrodynamic instability analogous to Rayleigh-Taylor at the liquid-solid interface during rapid helium crystal growth, identifying conditions under which the instability develops for different interface geometries.

Contribution

It introduces a model for hydrodynamic instability during non-uniform helium crystal growth, highlighting the role of acceleration and interface shape in instability onset.

Findings

Instability occurs when interface acceleration exceeds a critical value.

Both plane and spherical interface geometries are analyzed.

Potential observation in rapidly growing helium crystals.

Abstract

We analyze an analog of the hydrodynamic Rayleigh-Taylor instability for the liquid-solid phase interface under non-uniform growth of the solid phase. The development of the instability starts on conditions of an accelerated interface growth and if the magnitude of acceleration exceeds some critical value. The plane and spherical shapes of the interface are considered. The observation of the instability can be expected for helium crystals in the course of their abnormal fast growth.