A uniquely defined entropy stable matrix dissipation operator for high Mach number ideal MHD and compressible Euler simulations

We describe a unique averaging procedure to design an entropy stable dissipation operator for the ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and compressible Euler equations. Often in the derivation of an entropy conservative numerical flux function much care is taken in the design and averaging of the entropy conservative numerical flux. We demonstrate in this work that if the discrete dissipation operator is not carefully chosen as well it can have deleterious effects on the numerical approximation. This is particularly true for very strong shocks or high Mach number flows present, for example, in astrophysical simulations. We present the underlying technique of how to construct a unique averaging technique for the discrete dissipation operator. We also demonstrate numerically the increased robustness of the approximation

Entropy stable numerical approximations for the isothermal and polytropic Euler equations

In this work we analyze the entropic properties of the Euler equations when the system is closed with the assumption of a polytropic gas. In this case, the pressure solely depends upon the density of the fluid and the energy equation is not necessary anymore as the mass conservation and momentum conservation then form a closed system. Further, the total energy acts as a convex mathematical entropy function for the polytropic Euler equations. The polytropic equation of state gives the pressure as a scaled power law of the density in terms of the adiabatic index γ. As such, there are important limiting cases contained within the polytropic model like the isothermal Euler equations (γ = 1) and the shallow water equations (γ = 2). We first mimic the continuous entropy analysis on the discrete level in a finite volume context to get special numerical flux functions. Next, these numerical fluxes are incorporated into a particular discontinuous Galerkin (DG) spectral element framework where derivatives are approximated with summation-by-parts operators. This guarantees a high-order accurate DG numerical approximation to the polytropic Euler equations that is also consistent to its auxiliary total energy behavior. Numerical examples are provided to verify the theoretical derivations, i.e., the entropic properties of the high order DG scheme