Rossby wave propagation and generation in the protoplanetary nebula

The protoplanetary nebular analog to the planetary Rossby wave is developed , Linear dispersion relations are derived. It is found that the nebular Ros sby wave propagates freely in the nebular azimuthal direction and slowly gr ows in the radial direction. Possible ramifications for the nebula are rais ed for the reverse transition of turbulence into Rossby waves and zonal jet s via the Rhines mechanism (P. B, Rhines 1975, J. Fluid Mech, 69, 417-443), specifically, the formation of long-lived vortices and the accretion of so lid bodies. (C) 1999 Academic Press.