Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2014/iii/paper-49/1/i/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 49 1 i Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Take a fixed comoving volume, whose physical volume is . For adiabatic cosmic expansion, the first law of thermodynamics gives . ThereforeSpatial curvature does not change the scaling of a fixed comoving volume. With and , the Friedmann equation becomesDifferentiating this expression, rather than dividing by at a fixed point, yields the cosmological density parameter flowThis holds on an expanding branch with . The spatially flat solution is a fixed point. For , . Consequently curvature deviations grow as during radiation domination and as during matter domination. A small present curvature therefore requires a much smaller initial deviation: this is the Flatness problem of a decelerating Big Bang. The issue applies to either sign of curvature, not just an open universe. Conversely, accelerated expansion with suppresses small deviations, which is the inflationary solution of the flatness problem.
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