Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2018/iii/paper-316/3/vii/solution

For a phase-mixed orbit, probability in a short arc is , so the line density on a Kepler orbit is inversely proportional to speed. At true anomaly ,
Using the vis-viva equation, and hence . Therefore
For one particle, the normalized line probability is . This is density per arc length; density per unit polar angle has a further factor and is proportional to .

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