Rarefaction wave

A rarefaction wave is a continuous expanding fan of characteristics that connects two constant states of a hyperbolic conservation law.

For $\gamma >1$ and positive mass density and pressure, let $\xi =x/t$ in one-dimensional adiabatic compressible flow. The smooth equations are $(u-\xi ){\rho }^{\prime }+\rho u^{\prime }=0$, $(u-\xi )u^{\prime }+p^{\prime }/\rho =0$ and $(u-\xi )p^{\prime }+\gamma p{u}^{\prime }=0$. Away from a constant branch, their coefficient determinant forces $\xi =u+\sigma c$ with $\sigma =\pm 1$ and adiabatic sound speed $c=\sqrt{\gamma p/\rho }$. The entropy equation gives $p=K{\rho }^{\gamma }$, and combining continuity with $c^{\prime }/c=(\gamma -1){\rho }^{\prime }/(2\rho )$ givesThus $u=[2\xi +(\gamma -1)J]/(\gamma +1)$, $c=\sigma (\gamma -1)(\xi -J)/(\gamma +1)$, $\rho =(c^2/(\gamma K){)}^{1/(\gamma -1)}$ and $p=K{\rho }^{\gamma }$, on intervals where $c>0$. The specific entropy is constant. Together with uniform branches, these exhaust smooth positive-gas self-similar solutions; a contact discontinuity is not a smooth fan.