Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-general-relativity-and-cosmology-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2016/2/solution
Past exam of the general relativity and cosmology course of the University of Oxford 2016 2 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
Curvature and conservation. The stress-energy tensor is symmetric and obeys covariant conservation of stress-energy, . To construct a local field equation linear in the Ricci tensor and its trace, consider . The contracted Bianchi identity and metric compatibility giveThe divergence must vanish identically, rather than constrain every matter source to have constant scalar curvature. Therefore , giving the Einstein tensorA constant multiple of the metric can also be added, corresponding to a cosmological constant; it is omitted in this stellar problem. Proportionality to matter by itself does not exclude arbitrary higher-curvature theories. The stated linear combination assumes the usual second-order metric field equation, linear in curvature, with its coupling fixed by the Newtonian limit.
The source's displayed curvature components use the convention , opposite to another common curvature convention. Retain both that sign and those components together: replacing only the sign would give an incorrect negative stellar mass.
Fluid frame and mass function. Because the metric and the Einstein tensor are diagonal, the mixed time-space components of the stress-energy tensor vanish. For the perfect fluid in general relativity, . A future timelike four-velocity has , so ordinary matter with must have . Normalizing then yieldsThe static perfect-fluid rest-frame criterion needs the nonzero enthalpy assumption. A vacuum-like component with has for every normalized timelike , so diagonality cannot pick its rest frame. That is a concrete exception to the unqualified inference about velocity; it does not describe the ordinary stellar fluid considered next.
Lowering the indices of the static-fluid tensor gives and . The time component of the field equation therefore impliesRegularity at the centre fixes the integration constant to zero, givingA central point mass would introduce an additional constant, but is excluded by the regular-star boundary condition. The radial field equation isSolving and substituting the mass function givesCombining this with fluid conservation gives the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff equation, in conventions where is the rest-frame mass-equivalent energy density:The pressure contributes to inertial mass density and active gravity, while the last denominator is a relativistic curvature correction. The weak-field, low-pressure limit recovers .
Constant-density integration. Set and . Now andThe surface boundary condition is , with finite central pressure. Integrating from the surface givesWrite and . Solving for gives the Interior Schwarzschild solution:The printed integration hint has a missing factor for general . The common-intercept partial fraction identity givesFor instance, at the integrand on the left is , while the derivative of the printed right-hand side is . The normalized calculation above uses , where that missing factor happens not to matter.
Positive finite central pressure requires . ConsequentlyEquality is a singular limiting solution with divergent pressure. The constant-density model is incompressible and is not a realistic causal neutron-star equation of state. Nevertheless, Buchdahl's theorem extends this compactness bound to regular static spherical isotropic fluids with nonincreasing density, under its usual assumptions.
For an emitted surface line received by a static observer at infinity, the gravitational redshift between static Schwarzschild observers givesA claimed purely gravitational surface redshift would require compactness , exceeding . It is inconsistent with the regular isotropic static neutron-star interpretation, even though the surface would formally remain outside its Schwarzschild radius. Misidentification, additional kinematic shifts or departures from the model would need examination before treating that line as a neutron-star surface measurement.
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