Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2004/iii/paper-67/2/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 iii Paper 67 2 b Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The outer factor is explicitly , the normalized scale factor of an Einstein-de Sitter universe, with the same enclosed mass and initial bang time as the region. The correction describes a fractional reduction of the region's radius relative to this background:For fixed mass, density varies as inverse radius cubed, so . The growing linear density contrast is thereforeThe full spherical collapse reverses its expansion at and reaches zero radius at , corresponding to . In the ideal cold, pressureless model this makes the nonlinear density contrast infinite. Extrapolating the linear growing mode to that same time instead gives the finite linear spherical-collapse thresholdThis is an extrapolation of a linear perturbation, not an accurate finite-radius approximation at the moment of collapse. Virial equilibrium requires relaxation of the cold coherent motion and replaces the ideal singular endpoint.
New to topics? Read the docs here!