Past exam of the short options paper shared by Parts A and B of the physics course of the University of Oxford / 2019 / S30 / 2 / b / Solution

Neglect disk self-gravity and take $|z|\ll r$ around a central point mass $M_{\star }$. Its vertical gravitational acceleration isVertical hydrostatic equilibrium is $dP/dz=\rho g_z$. For a vertically isothermal ideal gas, $P=\rho c_s^2$ and $c_s$ is independent of $z$, givingHere $v_K=r\Omega =\sqrt{G{M}_{\star }/r}$, $c_s^2=k_{B}T/(\mu m_p)$ is the isothermal sound speed squared, and $h$ is the Gaussian scale height. A different convention writing $e^{-z^2/h^2}$ changes the quoted height by $\sqrt{2}$ but not the physics.