Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2010/iii/paper-60/3/v/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 iii Paper 60 3 v Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The assumed central black hole mass is . A mass alone does not fix radiated energy: specify a formation mechanism and its radiative efficiency of black-hole accretion. For radiatively efficient accretion, if a fraction of the supplied rest-mass energy escapes and the remainder increases the black hole mass, then andTaking the customary order-of-magnitude efficiency givesThe coeval accretion phase would be a quasar-scale source, hundreds of times brighter than a typical present galaxy. Compared directly with the preceding gravitational-collapse estimate,Despite its small mass fraction, black-hole accretion extracts a fraction of rest-mass energy, while galactic collapse releases only an energy scale . The numerical luminosity is conditional: a radiatively inefficient accretion flow, direct collapse or assembly by mergers need not radiate this amount over the galactic clock, and the question supplies no unique efficiency.
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