Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2017/ia/paper-4/10a/b/i/solution

Interpret projection from very far away as the asymptotic incoming state at . For and impact parameter , conservation of energy and conservation of angular momentum give and . At the closest approach the radial velocity vanishes. With , the central-force radial turning point equation is
Only the positive root is physical. Put . The pericentre distance and the purely tangential speed there are
Thus and : attraction bends the path inward and increases the speed. With positive energy, the Kepler orbit is a hyperbola. Measured from the pericentre direction, its polar coordinates satisfy with .
Figure 1. . Attractive and repulsive inverse-square scattering with the same incoming speed, impact parameter, and force magnitude. The incoming asymptote and closest approach are marked.
The hyperbola shown has a nonzero impact parameter. For , the attractive radial orbit instead reaches the singular origin; there is no regular turning point with a finite closest-approach speed.

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