The interaction of isentropic compression waves with a bow shock is numerically investigated. The relative intersection region size is introduced to characterize the convergence degree of isentropic compression waves. Among the multiple parameters involved, relative intersection region size is a crucial factor in determining the occurrence of the interference patterns, as well as the corresponding pressure and thermal loads. There exist two critical relative intersection region sizes: the small one corresponds to the intersection region size being approximately equal to the transmitted shock length in the case of Edney type IV interference, and the large one corresponds to the intersection region size being close to the transmitted shock length in the case of Edney type III interference. When relative intersection region size is lower than the small critical value, Edney interference patterns take place but their types depend on the vertical intersection location. When relative intersection region size is greater than the large critical value, none of the Edney interference patterns occurs. When relative intersection region size falls in between the two critical values, part of Edney interference patterns occur and a subsonic jet is produced by the intersection of isentropic compression waves with the strong portion of the bow shock. The maximum interference heating reduces with relative intersection region size. Additionally, a dimensionless dependence of the maximum heat transfer intensification was inferred for practical design and calculations. [http://dx.doi.org/10.2514/1.J052373] The article was published as: Lu HB,Yue LJ,Xiao YB,Zhang XY. Interaction of isentropic compression waves with a bow shock. AIAA JOURNAL, 2013, 51(10):2474-2484, doi: 10.2514/1.J052373