Refraction of hydromagnetic Shocks

Abstract

In this paper we have studied the refraction of a hydromagnetic shock wave in an aligned field, when it encounters an interface between two streams of gases at different mach and Alfvén numbers. The hodograph mapping technique is employed in all the discussions. Both regular and irregular refractions are considered for the fast and slow shocks, but in the case of the fast shock, the discussions have been restricted to the first type. A brief account of the refraction of transverse shocks is also given. A detailed discussion is not necessary because of the similarity between this problem and that of the type 1 fast shock.