ASYMPTOTIC STEADY-STATE SOLUTION to A BOW SHOCK with AN INFINITE Mach NUMBER

The problem of a cold gas flowing past a stationary obstacle is considered. We study the bow shock that forms around the obstacle and show that at large distances from the obstacle the shock front forms a parabolic solid of revolution. The profiles of the hydrodynamic variables in the interior of the shock are obtained by solution of the hydrodynamic equations in parabolic coordinates. The results are verified with a hydrodynamic simulation. The drag force on the obstacle is also calculated. Finally, we use these results to model the bow shock around an isolated neutron star.