An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

An approximate empirical criterion for the stability of a → galactic disk against its collapse to form a bar. The disk is stable if the following relation holds: T/|W| < 0.14, where T is the rotational → kinetic energy and |W| is the absolute value of the gravitational → potential energy. While the → Toomre criterion applies only to small linear perturbations, the Ostriker-Peebles criterion describes global modes.

See also: Ostriker & Peebles, 1973, ApJ 186, 467; → criterion.