Higher order shock waves (Q916899)

The electromagnetic field generated by a charged particle with a jump discontinuity in velocity has a \(\delta\)-distribution on a spherical surface expanding at light speed. Such a solution of the equations is called a first order shock wave; an n-th order shock wave would involve the (n-1)th derivative of \(\delta\). The authors extend compatibility conditions for a linear system to apply to first and higher order shock waves.