Supersonic Neutral Winds in an Outer Atmosphere. II. Effects of Variable Temperature

Abstract

Using the concept of steady nozzle flow along a narrow tube, the effect a variable temperature has on achieving one or two critical points is considered for a neutral gas in a locally heated region of the outer atmosphere of a planet or star. An implicit finite-difference formula, which does not require restrictions on the temperature variation for convergence, is used to solve the general nozzle flow equation. The direct dependence on temperature variation of a single critical point at which the flow becomes supersonic is shown for a model in which the gravitational force component is almost constant.