Global Solution of an Initial-Value Problem for Two-Dimensional Compressible Euler Equations

This paper is concerned with the existence of global continuous solutions of the expansion of a wedge of gas into a vacuum for compressible Euler equations. By hodograph transformation, we first prove that the flow is governed by a partial differential equation of second order, which is further reduced to a system of two nonhomogeneous linearly degenerate equations in the phase space under an irrotationality condition. Then this conclusion is applied to solving the problem that a wedge of gas expands into a vacuum, which is actually a Goursat-type problem for these two equations in the supersonic domain.