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ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2009/iii/paper-65/3/i/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 iii Paper 65 3 i Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Write and absorb units into the initial mass function normalization, . The specified mass-luminosity relation is , normalized to the Sun. Therefore the total stellar mass and luminosity areThe unknown normalization cancels. The mass-to-light ratio isLow-mass main sequence stars dominate the stellar mass, while equal intervals of contribute equal luminosity under these particular exponents. More generally the mass-to-light ratio of a power-law stellar population with these exponents on is .
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