Hydrodynamic instability of a melt surface under conditions of intense laser surface plasma formation

An experimental investigation was made of the stability of the surface of a metal melt exposed to single-pulse neodymium laser radiation in vacuum and at atmospheric pressure. Under conditions of intense plasma formation in vacuum, we observed a hydrodynamic instability of the surface resulting in the formation of large-scale quasiperiodic structures. Mechanisms responsible for the occurrence and evolution of this instability were analyzed.