On the continuum theory for the large Reynolds number spherical expansion into a near vacuum

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Abstract
The steady, spherically symmetric flow of a compressible gas is considered. The gas is both viscous and heat-conducting. In the limit of very high Reynolds number (= α−1, α → 0) and correspondingly low pressure at infinity, the structure of the whole flow field is discussed. The five regions that arise by virtue of the limit α → 0 are briefly considered. Special care is given to the matching across the overlap domains and the first region (close to, but outside, the sonic point) and the fifth (where the pressure adjusts to its ambient value) are carefully examined. It is argued that the application of appropriate matching principles, together with judicious use of numerical solutions, allows an arbitrary pressure and temperature to be assigned to the background gas.