Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2009/iii/paper-65/2/i/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 iii Paper 65 2 i Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use a steady, isotropic, self-gravitating dark matter halo, with its constant one-dimensional velocity dispersion. The Spherical Jeans equation and spherical mass conservation readFor the scale-free outer region, put . Its enclosed mass scales as , so is constant only if ; the Spherical Jeans equation then gives . Thus the singular isothermal sphere hasIts circular speed is . If a speed denoted were instead the circular speed, the coefficient would be , but the printed variable is a velocity dispersion.
The assumptions matter. A constant velocity dispersion and spherical shape alone do not specify a unique central mass density or orbital distribution. Even with isotropy, the Spherical Jeans equation integrates to , and the self-gravitating Poisson equation for Newtonian gravity givesThere are finite-central-density isothermal solutions as well as the singular one; the expression is the intended outer scale-free halo approximation. A finite halo must also end or steepen at large radius, since the untruncated singular isothermal sphere has infinite total mass.
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