Local Axisymmetric Instability Criterion in the Thin, Rotating, Multicomponent Disk

Purely gravitational perturbations are considered in a thin rotating disk composed of several gas and stellar components. The dispersion relation for the axisymmetric density waves propagating through the disk is found and the criterion for the local axisymmetric stability of the whole system is formulated. In the appropriate limit of two-component gas we confirm the findings of Jog & Solomon (1984) and extend consideration to the case when one component is collisionless. Gravitational stability of the Galactic disk in the Solar neighborhood based on the multicomponent instability condition is explored using recent measurements of the stellar composition and kinematics in the local Galactic disk obtained by Hipparcos satellite.