Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2015/iii/paper-57/4/b/solution

The spatial factor is a regular solid harmonic. Besides the Laplace equation , homogeneity gives . The divergence of the fluid displacement is
Define the scalar dilation amplitude ; this is the quantity denoted in the question, not the notation for a Lagrangian pressure perturbation. Then mass conservation gives .
The equilibrium pressure gradient and homogeneity identity give
Consequently the adiabatic equation of state yields
For the force equations, the product rule gives
Equating the coefficients of and in the self-gravitating adiabatic displacement equations gives
Finally, applying the Laplacian to the gravitational perturbation gives
so the Poisson equation becomes
These are the required interior equations for uniform-density stellar oscillation.
There is a radial degeneracy at : is spatially constant and , so the displacement is independent of . The second force equation then cannot be inferred by equating independent vectors. For nonzero it may be imposed as an auxiliary definition of , but it is not an additional physical radial equation. At zero frequency the radial equations should be used directly. This distinction matters for interpreting the zero factor in (c).

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