  Nanoscale hydrodynamic instability of ring-like molten rims around ablative
microholes produced in nanometer-thick gold films by tightly focused
nanosecond-laser pulses was experimentally explored in terms of laser pulse
energy and film thickness. These parametric dependencies of basic instability
characteristics - order and period of the resulting nanocrowns - were analyzed,
revealing its apparently Rayleigh-Plateau character, as compared to much less
consistent possible van der Waals and impact origins. Along with fundamental
importance, these findings will put forward pulsed laser ablation as an
alternative facile inexpensive table-top approach to study such hydrodynamic
instabilities developing at nanosecond temporal and nanometer spatial scales.
