On the evolution of normal ionizing shock waves in helium

Abstract

The generation, structure and propagation of one-dimensional ionizing MHD shock waves in helium under a pressure of 100 mTorr are investigated with the help of numerical simulation. The normal magnetic field varies within 3 to 10 kG and the longitudinal magnetic field varies up to 2·5 kG. The model includes the kinetics of ionization and photo-processes. If a solid conducting piston is a source of perturbation, it may give rise to generation and further development of an MHD switch-on wave. Its evolution at an advanced stage depends weakly on the source. The curves for the dependence of the shock speed on time and the driving magnetic field as well as the profiles for the main quantities are presented. A possibility of comparison with real experiments is discussed. Algorithms based on Godunov's sliding meshes and the imbedding methods are used for numerical simulation.