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ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2009/iii/paper-62/2/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 iii Paper 62 2 a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Write and use summation over repeated Cartesian indices. A mass-normalized galactic distribution function obeys the Collisionless Boltzmann equationAssume decays in velocity sufficiently fast that the necessary boundary terms vanish. Its zeroth velocity moment gives the continuity equationFor the first velocity moment, multiply by and integrate. In the gravitational term, integration by parts gives . ThereforeThe velocity-dispersion tensor is the centered second moment, so . Expanding the streaming terms, the factor multiplying cancels by the continuity equation:Hence the Jeans equation isIts fluid analogue is the momentum equation with pressure tensor . For isotropic random motion, , and this becomes the Euler equations for an inviscid fluid:The tensor form allows anisotropic stellar stresses. In a fluid an equation of state can provide a pressure closure; the Jeans equation alone does not determine the velocity-dispersion tensor of a collisionless stellar system.
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