The growth and decay of sonic waves in a radiating gas at high temperature

The propagation of a sonic discontinuity in an optically thick gray gas at temperature 10⁵°K or higher has been studied. The effects of radiation pressure and radiation energy density have been taken into account, while the profiles structured by radiant heat transfer are imbedded in the discontinuities under high temperature conditions of an optically thick medium. When the sonic discontinuity is propagating into a gas at rest, its velocity of propagation is found to be a constant which is the effective speed of sound in a radiating gas. The fundamental differential equations governing the growth of the sonic discontinuity are obtained and solved. It is concluded that if the sonic discontinuity is a compressive wave of order 1, then it terminates into a shock wave after a critical timet _c which has been determined. But on the other hand, when the sonic discontinuity is an expansion wave of order 1, then it will decay and will vanish ultimately. Particular cases of interest have been studied in details.