Improved models for the dynamical overstability of radiative blast waves

Further developments in atomic physics calculations of radiative cooling designed to interpret experimental observations of overstability in radiating decelerating blast waves by Grun et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 66, 2738 (1991)] are described. A previous paper on the subject [Laming and Grun, Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 125002 (2002)] showed that in order to be overstable, shocked gas must cool significantly in a distance downstream from the shock similar to the width of the shock transition itself. In this paper a more realistic model for the shock jump is employed, and significantly improved agreement between theory and experiment is found.