 Marginal fragmentation mode of an isothermal slab

For mass density $\rho ={\rho }_0{\mathrm{sech}}^2(z/H)$ with $H^2=c_s^2/(2\pi G{\rho }_0)$, a zero-frequency gravitational mode with $k\ne 0$ obeys $W=0$. Its potential satisfies ${\varphi }_{zz}+[2{\mathrm{sech}}^2(z/H)/H^2-k^2]\varphi =0$. The substitution $\tau =\tanh (z/H)$ gives the associated Legendre differential equation of degree one and order $|k|H$. Solutions decaying at both infinities exist only at $|k|H=1$, when $\varphi \propto \mathrm{sech}(z/H)$. Longer horizontal wavelengths are unstable. Neutral mass-preserving relabeling displacements and the uniform vertical translation at $k=0$ are distinct from this fragmentation threshold.