THE WEAKENING OF THE TERMINATION SHOCKS OF ISOTHERMAL WINDS BY MASS LOADING

An analysis of the dynamics of supersonic mass-loaded isothermal winds shows that in many situations such a wind will pass through one or mo re global shocks at speeds much lower than the wind's maximum velocity . A method for estimating the Mach number of the global shock in a mas s-loaded, spherically symmetric, isothermal wind is given. The criteri a that must be met for the assumption that the wind is isothermal to b e valid are treated. We discuss the asymptotic behavior of these winds and the nature of sonic points in them. Numerical solutions for the M ach numbers of isothermal winds for different radial dependences of th e mass-loading rate are given. The possible relevance of low shock spe eds in some mass-loaded isothermal winds for radio quietness is mentio ned.