Vorticity and Wave Motion in a Compressible Protoplanetary Disk
The impact of an isolated vortex in a compressible Keplerian disk is examined using higher order numerical solutions of the Euler and entropy-conserving Energy equations. The vortex is stretched by the background shear flow with longer lasting anticyclonic vortices persisting for about 10 vortex revolutions. Simultaneously, the vortex emits transient radial waves consisting mainly of axisymmetrical weak shock waves and a slower, nonaxisymmetric Rossby wave. These waves may contribute to certain transient events in protoplanetary disks. The vortex stretching and waves were found to have little long-term feedback on the baseline 'standard solar nebula' disk structure and confirm the extremely stable structure of non self-gravitating disks.