“…This issue was addressed by the final part of the series of numerical studies, 11,12,14 where the entire transition path of oblique breakdown for a flat-plate boundary layer at Mach 3 was simulated. Similar computations for first-mode type waves in a Mach 4.5 boundary layer were reported earlier by Jiang et al 18 The present paper complements the study by Mayer et al 11,12,14 via one additional DNS computation. In the earlier investigations, Mayer et al 11,12,14 assumed symmetry with respect to the spanwise direction to reduce computational costs.…”