Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2015/ii/paper-1/12c/solution

Set . Multiplication of the Friedmann equation by gives
For the expanding branch emerging from , . Differentiating where gives , and continuity extends it through a regular turning point. Put . Solving this linear equation with both initial data gives
Initially . If , stays positive and strictly increasing; at late times . This universe expands forever.
If , expansion stops when , giving
The physical solution expands from zero and then symmetrically recollapses to zero; negative beyond this interval is not a continuation of a real scale factor.
Figure 1.
Scale-factor histories for closed radiation universes with positive cosmological constant: eternal expansion for lambda above one and finite-time recollapse for lambda below one
.

New to topics? Read the docs here!