Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2015/iii/paper-58/2/e/solution

For a stellar polytrope of index , write and combine hydrostatic equilibrium with mass conservation to obtain
Introduce Lane-Emden variables for a stellar polytrope, , and , where
Since , the mechanical equation reduces to the Lane-Emden equation
A constant-density interior corresponds to the formal polytrope of index zero, with where . At , regularity first gives , and a second integration gives
Here and , reproducing . The mass density jumps from its constant interior value to zero at the surface, while pressure vanishes continuously. The relation is singular at ; the regular dimensionless pressure/mass density formulation defines this incompressible structural limit. It does not mean that the gas's perturbative stellar adiabatic exponent is infinite: the hydrostatic ideal-gas toy model and its adiabatic response are distinct choices.

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