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ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2009/iii/paper-65/4/i/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 iii Paper 65 4 i Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A typical globular cluster has undergone appreciable two-body relaxation, since its stellar relaxation time is : for and stellar crossing time this is about , shorter than its age, allowing a relatively relaxed, tidally limited structure. A galaxy with and instead has and behaves as a collisionless stellar system, retaining differences from formation, galaxy mergers, and star formation. Relaxation erases more memory in clusters than in galaxies, although real globular clusters also differ in concentration and evolutionary state, so structural similarity is approximate.
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