Orbital shear parameter ($q=-d\log \Omega /d\log r$)

The orbital shear parameter measures the fractional radial decrease in orbital angular frequency. A Kepler orbit has $q=3/2$, while rigid rotation has $q=0$. The radial epicyclic frequency obeys ${\kappa }_r^2=2(2-q){\Omega }^2$; this follows by differentiating the squared specific angular momentum $h^2=r^4{\Omega }^2$.