Self-similar solutions of the Euler equations with spherical symmetry

We consider self-similar flows arising from the uniform expansion of a spherical piston and preceded by a shock wave front. With appropriate boundary conditions imposed on the piston surface and the spherical shock, the isentropic compressible Euler system is transformed into a nonlinear ODE system. We formulate the problem in a simple form in order to present the analytic proof of the global existence of positive smooth solutions.