We have studied a suite of cylindrical, polystyrene
targets, both unperturbed and with mode-28, 1.5 μm
initial-amplitude sinusoidal perturbations imposed azimuthally
along the target length. All targets are driven by direct
laser illumination at 3ω using the University of Rochester
OMEGA laser facility. Our numerical simulation and experimental
data demonstrate the proof of principle for direct-drive
studies of complex hydrodynamic phenomena in convergent
geometry. We obtain high-quality, time-dependent data,
that demonstrate good implosion symmetry and against which
numerical simulations show promising agreement within currently
assessed error bars. Our results identify operational space
for continuing experiments.