Eigenstates of Quasi-Keplerian Self-Gravitating Particle Discs

Abstract

Although quasi-Keplerian discs are among the most common astrophysical structures, computation of secular angular momentum transport within them routinely presents a considerable practical challenge. In this work, we investigate the secular small-inclination dynamics of a razor-thin particle disc as the continuum limit of a discrete Lagrange-Laplace secular perturbative theory and explore the analogy between the ensuing secular evolution -- including non-local couplings of self-gravitating discs -- and quantum mechanics. We find the 'quantum' Hamiltonian that describes the time evolution of the system and demonstrate the existence of a conserved inner product. The lowest-frequency normal modes are numerically approximated by performing a Wick rotation on the equations of motion. These modes are used to quantify the accuracy of a much simpler local-coupling model, revealing that it predicts the shape of the normal modes to a high degree of accuracy, especially in narrow annuli, even though it fails to predict their eigenfrequencies.

arXiv comment9 pages, 4 figures

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