Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2018/iii/paper-321/2/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 321 2 b Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Take for the ideal gas. At fixed cylindrical radius, put , where is the Boltzmann constant, the mean molecular weight and the proton mass. Also write . Vertical hydrostatic equilibrium, thermal equilibrium and the ideal gas law requireConsequently, with ,Integrating from the midplane yieldsThe polytropic vertical structure in stellar gravity therefore has, for ,whereThis is a polytropic equation of state with polytropic index . For , set ; temperature has no physical gas value in that vacuum. Here is the finite semi-thickness, rather than an exponential disk scale height.
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