Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2009/iii/paper-66/4/iv/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 iii Paper 66 4 iv a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The plot uses comoving wavenumber in . Using the inverse comoving particle horizon from part (ii) gives . The conventional matter-radiation equality scale is insteadThese are consistent order-one conventions for locating the turnover near . The horizon-entry condition is ; equating an entire Fourier wavelength to the particle horizon would attach a different numerical factor.
For adiabatic initial conditions, the asymptotic cold-dark-matter power spectrum has , where the scalar spectral index is and is the cosmological transfer function. Modes below enter during matter domination and have little relative suppression, giving approximately . Modes above enter during radiation domination, when logarithmic growth of matter perturbations during radiation domination is much slower. Their transfer is approximately , giving well above equality. This explains the broad turnover; baryon acoustic oscillations add structure, and nonlinear evolution modifies sufficiently small scales.
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