Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2002/iii/paper-44/1/d/solution

At rest with all separations initially infinite, both initial kinetic and gravitational energies vanish, so the conserved total energy is zero. During an isolated collapse, , rather than the equilibrium relation . Hence at the stated instantaneous gravitational potential energy,
The rms collapse speed is times the rms equilibrium speed for the same instantaneous and mass. For a perfectly radial cold infall this mean-square motion includes coherent inward streaming; it need not equal a local random velocity dispersion after subtracting that streaming. The quoted comparison follows the question's global mean-square convention.

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