title: Rayleigh-taylor instability with magnetic fluids: experiment and theory
abstract: We present experiments showing the Rayleigh-Taylor instability at the interface between a dense magnetic liquid and an immiscible less dense liquid. The liquids are confined in a Hele-Shaw cell and a magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the cell. We measure the wavelength and the growth rate at the onset of the instability as a function of the external magnetic field. The wavelength decreases as the field increases. The amplitude of the interface deformation grows exponentially with time in the early stage, and the growth rate is an increasing function of the field. These results are compared to theoretical predictions given in the framework of linear stability analysis.
authors.affiliation: Universite Paris 7-Denis Diderot, UFR de Physique (Case 7008), 2 place Jussieu, 75251 Paris Cedex 05, France and Laboratoire des Milieux Desordonnes et Heterogenes (Case 78), Universite Paris 6-UMR 7603 CNRS, 4 place Jussieu, 75252 Paris.
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pacitto
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Flament
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Bacri
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Widom