Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2003/iii/paper-66/2/a/solution

For a flat universe containing only the stated fluid, the cosmological continuity equation is . A constant equation-of-state parameter therefore gives . Combine this with the Friedmann equation to find
On the expanding branch, specifying yields
The solution is used only where its denominator is positive. For , integration also gives
For , choosing the zero of time at the initial singularity gives and . For , , is constant and . For , the displayed initial-value solution instead grows towards a future finite-time singularity; it is not the ordinary positive-time Big Bang branch. With positive density, accelerated expansion requires .

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