Intuitive calculation of the relativistic Rayleigh-Taylor instability linear growth rate

TL;DR

This paper presents an intuitive method to derive the relativistic Rayleigh-Taylor instability growth rate, making the physics clearer and providing a straightforward calculation approach for relativistic fluids.

Contribution

It introduces a simple, intuitive derivation of the relativistic Rayleigh-Taylor instability growth rate, extending previous non-relativistic methods to relativistic incompressible fluids.

Findings

Derived the relativistic linear growth rate using intuitive reasoning

Provided a clear physical understanding of the relativistic instability

Extended classical methods to relativistic fluid dynamics

Abstract

The Rayleigh-Taylor instability is a key process in many fields of Physics ranging from astrophysics to inertial confinement fusion. It is usually analyzed deriving the linearized fluid equations, but the physics behind the instability is not always clear. Recent works on this instability allow for an very intuitive understanding of the phenomenon and for a straightforward calculation of the linear growth rate. In this Letter, it is shown that the same reasoning allows for a direct derivation of the relativistic expression of the linear growth rate for an incompressible fluid.