Heat and Gravitation. II. Stability
arXiv:0904.0427 · doi:10.1007/s10714-010-1074-5
Abstract
In this second article of a series we propose to base criteria of stability on the hamiltonian functional that is provided by the variational principle, to replace the reliance that has often been placed on {\it ad hoc} definitions of the "energy". We introduce a new virial principle that is formulated entirely within the Eulerian description of hydrodynamics, which allows a simpler derivation of a well known stability criterion for polytropic stellar configurations. Boundary conditions are based entirely on mass conservation.
19 pages, plain tex