Rotating Relativistic Thin Disks

Abstract

Two families of models of rotating relativistic disks based on Taub-NUT and Kerr metrics are constructed using the well-known "displace, cut and reflect" method. We find that for disks built from a generic stationary axially symmetric metric the "sound velocity", $(pressure/density)^{1/2}$, is equal to the geometric mean of the prograde and retrograde geodesic circular velocities of test particles moving on the disk. We also found that for generic disks we can have zones with heat flow. For the two families of models studied the boundaries that separate the zones with and without heat flow are not stable against radial perturbations (ring formation).