Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-general-relativity-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2022/3/c/solution
Past exam of the general relativity course of the University of Oxford 2022 3 c Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
Let , , and use a prime for . The null geodesic first integral obtained above becomesDifferentiating with respect to and dividing by away from a turning point givesThe same differential equation holds at the turning point by continuity. When , the general solution is . Choose the angular origin so that the incoming asymptote has and the unperturbed closest approach has . The impact parameter then fixesThis is the straight reference path, not a curved orbit.
For perturbation theory with , write , where . Inserting this into the differential equation and discarding second-order terms givesA particular solution and the complementary solution areChoosing retains reflection symmetry about and the specified impact parameter to first order. The two distant zeros of then occur at and . Their separation exceeds by , consistently giving the Schwarzschild light deflection .
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