Functional approach to the problem of self-gravitating systems: Conditions of integrability

Abstract

Using a functional method based on the introduction of a velocity potential to solve the Euler, continuity and Poisson equations, a new analytic study of the equilibrium of self-gravitating rotating systems with a polytropic equation of state has permitted the formulation of the conditions of integrability. For the polytropic index $n=1$ in the incompressible case $(\ensuremath{\nabla}\ensuremath{\cdot}\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{v}=0),$ we are able to find the conditions for solving the problem of the equilibrium of polytropic self-gravitating systems that rotate and have nonuniform vorticity. This work contains the conditions which give analytic and quasi-analytic solutions for the equilibrium of polytropic stars and galactic systems in Newtonian gravity. In special cases, explicit analytic solutions are presented.