Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2002/iii/paper-44/1/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 iii Paper 44 1 b Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Work in the centre-of-mass frame and define , . Differentiation givesFor each gravitational pair, the two contributions combine toSumming pairs therefore gives the exact scalar virial theoremIn a stationary equilibrium, or a bounded long-time average with vanishing average , . With , the stated gravitational radius gives , henceThe rms speed itself is . This is a three-dimensional mean-square speed; for an isotropic system the one-component velocity dispersion is smaller by a factor of three in its square. No assumption about a uniform spatial density was used.
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