Vorticity Generation by Asymmetric Energy Deposition in a Gaseous Medium.

We develop a detailed theory of vorticity generation by asymmetries which are present when a cylindrical pulse of energy is deposited in a gaseous medium. Three classes of asymmetry which may occur separately or in combination, depending on the experiment being analyzed, are identified. A convenient representation of the flow field in terms of one or more vortex filament pairs having identical strengths is also introduced. The equations which give the vortex filament strength for the various asymmetry classes differ only in the value of a form factor, which contains information regarding geometric effects and hydrodynamic interactions. The form factor, however, depends only weakly on the profile of the density distribution of the medium prior to energy deposition. Finally the analytic results are verified and calibrated by providing data from accurate two‐dimensional simulations of several cases. The analytic and numerical calculations agree closely for all examples considered.