Abstract
The role of free electrons in the stability of strong shock waves in metals under spontaneous acoustic emission is investigated. For that purpose, a three-term form of the equation of state is employed in order to describe the cold pressure, the thermal atomic pressure and the thermal pressure of free electrons. The equation of state enables the calculation of the sound velocity behind the shock, which in turn is utilized in the Dyakov–Kontorovich criteria for the shock stability. The integral over the Fermi–Dirac distribution function that describes the specific internal energy of free electrons is replaced by a model algebraic function that possesses correct asymptotic limits at low and high temperatures. It is shown that strong shock waves in all metals are prone to instability under spontaneous emission. However, the threshold for that instability is shifted to higher Mach numbers if free electrons are taken into account. It is further shown that the stabilizing effect of free electrons is vastly overestimated if the expressions for degenerate electron gas are employed for temperatures that are larger than the Fermi temperature.
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