Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2013/iii/paper-54/3/d/solution

For a fixed satellite mass on an adiabatically changing circular orbit, . The satellite torque is minus the disc torque. Hence
The circular-orbit migration rate from disk torque, in the normalization supplied by the question, is
It is inward for a positive mass density slope and outward for a negative one. The complete-flyby normalization makes its magnitude four times larger, with the same direction. This is a local torque estimate; the hypothesis of a nearly circular slowly migrating orbit is needed when using the derivative of the circular angular momentum.

New to topics? Read the docs here!