Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2017/iii/paper-310/3/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 310 3 a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Take a homogeneous comoving cell of physical volume and total entropy . At vanishing chemical potential, the reversible first law of thermodynamics readsFor an extensive equilibrium system, the thermodynamic Euler relation is . At this givesThe supplied pressure identity verifies consistency directly: impliesThe thermodynamic Euler relation fixes the additive normalization that a differential identity alone would leave undetermined.
For adiabatic cosmological expansion, the cosmological perfect-fluid continuity equation gives , while . HenceThis proves cosmological entropy conservation in the stated perfect-fluid approximation. Kinetic equilibrium alone does not guarantee adiabatic evolution: entropy injection, dissipative stresses or out-of-equilibrium reactions would require additional source terms. Those effects are implicitly excluded in this calculation.
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