Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2008/iii/paper-72/2/iv/solution

For a concrete Milky-Way-like illustration, take
and isotropic tracer velocity dispersion
With local tracer density , the exponential-disk asymmetric drift then predicts
The sketch shows the cold gas following , rising in the inner galaxy and becoming approximately flat, while the stellar curve sits below it. Only radii are used for the stellar approximation; a central galactic bulge needs a separate model.
Figure 1.
Milky-Way-like cold-gas circular rotation and a stellar rotation curve with explicitly specified asymmetric drift
. Details.
At , and , giving gas speed about , stellar speed about , and a lag about . These are representative scales for the requested schematic, not a fit to the Milky Way. Hotter old stellar populations would have a larger lag: doubling this dispersion at the same radius gives a stellar speed about . The specified radial laws and isotropy make the example reproducible while retaining the qualifications in the preceding derivation.

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