Stability of particulate discs

Collisionally-induced amplification of density fluctuations can also produce non-axisymmetric local condensations in particulate discs if the optical thickness is between definite values. Gravitational instability occurs above this interval. The theory of both phenomena is derived from collisional equations. The conventional criterion for gravitational instability in a gaseous medium cannot be used for particulate discs, in which the equilibrium depends on the collisional energy loss. These instabilities can produce an unbounded growth in density or a gravitational coagulation of particles, but the typical consequence is the formation of highly elongated clouds which are denser than the background matter and have a relatively long lifetime before decay. The third type of instability, the thermal one, appears at low values of velocity dispersion. It only affects the random motion of particles without producing condensations.