Global Transonic Solutions of Planetary Atmospheres in Hydrodynamic Region $\mbox{--}$ Hydrodynamic Escape Problem due to Gravity and Heat

Abstract: The hydrodynamic escape problem (HEP), which is characterized by a free boundary value problem of Euler equation with gravity and heat, is crucial for investigating the evolution of planetary atmospheres. In this paper, the global existence of transonic solutions to the HEP is established using the generalized Glimm method. The new version of Riemann and boundary-Riemann solvers, are provided as building blocks of the generalized Glimm method by inventing the contraction matrices for the homogeneous Riemann (or boundary-Riemann) solutions. The extended Glimm-Goodman wave interaction estimates are investigated for obtaining a stable scheme and positive gas velocity, which matches the physical observation. The limit of approximation solutions serves as an entropy solution of bounded variations. Moreover, the range of the hydrodynamical region is also obtained.