Computing Radially-Symmetric Solutions of the Ultra-Relativistic Euler Equations with Entropy-Stable Discontinuous Galerkin Methods

Abstract: The ultra--relativistic Euler equations describe gases in the relativistic case when the thermal energy dominates. These equations for an ideal gas are given in terms of the pressure, the spatial part of the dimensionless four-velocity, and the particle density. Kunik et al.\ (2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2024.113330) proposed genuine multi--dimensional benchmark problems for the ultra--relativistic Euler equations. In particular, they compared full two-dimensional discontinuous Galerkin simulations for radially symmetric problems with solutions computed using a specific one-dimensional scheme. Of particular interest in the solutions are the formation of shock waves and a pressure blow-up. In the present work we derive an entropy-stable flux for the ultra--relativistic Euler equations. Therefore, we derive the main field (or entropy variables) and the corresponding potentials. We then present the entropy-stable flux and conclude with simulation results for different test cases both in 2D and in 3D.