Polytropic atmosphere

A polytropic atmosphere obeys $p=K{\rho }^{1+1/m}$ for polytropic index $m$. Under uniform vertical gravity and a free surface, its density and pressure are powers of depth below that surface.

A polytropic atmosphere is neutrally stratified when $1+1/m=\gamma$, so its equilibrium pressure-density relation matches the adiabatic relation and its buoyancy frequency vanishes.

A surface gravito-inertial wave combines free-surface gravity restoration with Coriolis restoration. In a uniformly rotating deep atmosphere its incompressible dispersion relation can be written

In a neutrally stratified polytropic atmosphere, vertically trapped polynomial solutions of degree $n\ge 1$ describe acoustic pressure modes. The degree-zero member is the surface-gravity mode.