Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2002/iii/paper-45/3/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 iii Paper 45 3 a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
In an Einstein-de Sitter universe, a slightly overdense spherical region initially expands nearly with the Hubble flow, with its early physical radius proportional to . Its extra self-gravity gradually slows its expansion relative to the background. The radius reaches a maximum at spherical-collapse turnaround, where the coherent radial velocity is zero; it then contracts. The ideal pressureless top-hat would collapse to a point, but real collisionless matter undergoes crossing and relaxation into a bound system with random motions and virial equilibrium.
The bound-shell solution illustrates the stages:At , and ; the formal cold collapse occurs at , . For a uniform isolated sphere, let . At turnaround , whereas the final virial theorem gives . Conservation of energy gives , henceThe usual spherical-collapse prescription associates virialization with roughly the formal collapse epoch, not with a literal instantaneous halt of the cold shell. The sketch distinguishes the formal point collapse from the schematic settling at the virial radius:
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