Exact Solutions of the Isothermal Lane--Emden Equation with Rotation and Implications for the Formation of Planets and Satellites

Abstract

We have derived exact solutions of the isothermal Lane--Emden equation with and without rotation in a cylindrical geometry. The corresponding hydrostatic equilibria are most relevant to the dynamics of the protosolar nebula before and during the stages of planet and satellite formation. The nonrotating solution for the mass density is analytic, nonsingular, monotonically decreasing with radius, and it satisfies easily the usual physical boundary conditions at the center. When differential rotation is added to the Lane--Emden equation, an entire class of exact solutions for the mass density appears. We have determined all of these solutions analytically as well. Within this class, solutions that are power laws or combinations of power laws are not capable of satisfying the associated boundary--value problem, but they are nonetheless of profound importance because they constitute "baselines" to which the actual solutions approach when the central boundary conditions are imposed. Numerical integrations that enforce such physical boundary conditions show that the actual radial equilibrium density profiles emerge from the center close to the nonrotating solution, but once they cross below the corresponding baselines, they cease to be monotonic. The actual solutions are forced to oscillate permanently about the baseline solutions without ever settling onto them because the central boundary conditions strictly prohibit such settling, even in the asymptotic regime of large radii. Based on our results, we expect that quasistatically--evolving protoplanetary disks should develop oscillatory density profiles in their midplanes during their isothermal phase. The peaks in these profiles correspond to local potential minima and their locations are ideal sites for the formation of protoplanets ...

arXiv commentModified version with longer historical introduction, discussion of model stability, and updated discussion of multi-planet extrasolar systems

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