Non-relativistic limits of rarefaction wave to the 1-D piston problem for the isentropic relativistic Euler equations

Abstract

We consider the 1-D piston problem for the isentropic relativistic Euler equations when the total variations of the initial data and the speed of the piston are both sufficiently small. By a modified wave front tracking method, we establish the global existence of entropy solutions including a strong rarefaction wave without restriction on the strength. Meanwhile, we study the convergence of the entropy solutions to the corresponding entropy solutions of the classical non-relativistic isentropic Euler equations as the light speed c→+∞.