Structure of Hydromagnetic Ionizing Shock Waves

Abstract

A physical model is formulated to describe the changes taking place within a strong ionizing shock wave in the presence of electromagnetic fields. The model assumed is composed of a strong adiabatic shock to translational equilibrium followed by initiation of ionization and interaction between the flow and the electromagnetic fields. Eventually, recombination causes the flow to relax to a downstream state of thermodynamic equilibrium and zero current flow. Mathematical equations are derived to describe the changes in flow parameters and electromagnetic fields within the nonequilibrium current-carrying region for an arbitrary gas and arbitrary upstream magnetic field configuration. The analysis removes the indeterminacy in the solution of the shock jump conditions arising from the inability to fix the upstream electric field for ionizing shock waves. The particular case of switch-on shock waves in argon is then considered in detail. Solutions were only found when the downstream transverse magnetic field component was much less than the axial component.