Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-general-relativity-and-cosmology-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2017/2/c/solution
Past exam of the general relativity and cosmology course of the University of Oxford 2017 2 c Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
The observer is static at , with four-velocity , where . Angles are measured in the observer's rest frame, using the positive spatial metric tensoron the equatorial plane. One cannot directly normalize a photon tangent with the full Lorentzian metric to define an angle, because that tangent is null.
At the observer the spatial direction of an outward-moving grazing ray is proportional to , with . Its angle to the outward radial direction equals the corresponding sky angle to the inward center of the image. Taking the spatial inner product with ,ConsequentlyThe limiting value is understood by continuity.
For a grazing ray the areal radius has a turning point at the stellar surface , so there. The radial equation givesSince , the surface lies outside the photon sphere. The function decreases for , so this tangential ray can escape to every and correctly defines the image's rim. For the specified surface,Also , henceIts sign depends on the orientation of the ray and of , and does not affect the angular diameter. Substitution givesThis apparent angular radius of a spherical star in Schwarzschild spacetime has useful limiting checks. As , the star occupies a hemisphere, . Far away, : Schwarzschild light deflection increases the apparent radius by a factor relative to the flat-space value .
New to topics? Read the docs here!