= Mestel disk
{c}
{title2=$\Sigma(R)=v_M^2/(2\pi GR)$}
{wiki}
= Mestel disc
{c}
{synonym}
A Mestel disk is a thin axisymmetric <astrophysical disk> with <surface density> inversely proportional to radius. Its <galaxy rotation curve> is exactly flat, $v_c=v_M$, and $v_c^2=GM(R)/R$ despite its nonspherical geometry. In the <Legendre expansion of thin-disk gravity>, all positive-degree interior and exterior terms cancel. Its total mass is infinite, so only potential differences, rather than a potential zero at infinity, are defined.
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