Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2015/ii/paper-1/12c/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 ii Paper 1 12C Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Set . Multiplication of the Friedmann equation by givesFor 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 givesInitially . If , stays positive and strictly increasing; at late times . This universe expands forever.
If , expansion stops when , givingThe physical solution expands from zero and then symmetrically recollapses to zero; negative beyond this interval is not a continuation of a real scale factor.
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
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