21 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables.A comprehensive study of a steady axisymmetric supersonic jet of CO2, including experiment, theory, and numerical calculation, is presented. The experimental part, based on high-sensitivity Raman spectroscopy mapping, provides absolute density and rotational temperature maps covering the significant regions of the jet: the zone of silence, barrel shock, Mach disk, and subsonic region beyond the Mach disk. The interpretation is based on the quasi-gasdynamic (QGD) system of equations, and its generalization (QGDR) considering the translational–rotational breakdown of thermal equilibrium. QGD and QGDR systems of equations are solved numerically in terms of a finite-difference algorithm with the steady state attained as the limit of a time-evolving process. Numerical results show a good global agreement with experiment, and provide information on those quantities not measured in the experiment, like velocity field, Mach numbers, and pressures. According to the calculation the subsonic part of the jet, downstream of the Mach disk, encloses a low-velocity recirculation vortex ring.This research was supported by the Spanish Dirección General de Investigación
Científica y Enseñanza Superior (DGICYES), Research Projects PB94{1526 and
PB97{1203, and by the Fund for Fundamental Investigations of the Russian Academy
of Sciences N 98-01-00155.Peer reviewe
