Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2002/iii/paper-45/1/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 iii Paper 45 1 b Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use and signature . The positively curved FLRW metric in the usual radial chart isSet and introduce conformal time by . Then in the chart, and the spherical polar coordinate extends the spatial description to the full three-sphere. ThusThe coordinate itself is not one-to-one across the equator, which is why the new polar coordinate is useful.
For and , the Friedmann equation is . Since , it becomesFor pressureless matter, the background continuity equation gives . Define the conserved normalization . It makes the equation . The closed matter-dominated Friedmann solution is the cycloidIndeed and . Integrating gives the second expression, with the Big Bang at . It expands to at and recollapses at . Here is the constant appearing in the Friedmann equation; it is not the total mass of the entire closed spatial slice, whose volume is .
New to topics? Read the docs here!