Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2018/iii/paper-321/2/d/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 321 2 d Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
For slow cooling of an astrophysical disk, let and assume a vertically symmetric laminar column with no significant radial mass exchange. Its vertical velocity is of order , so the vertical material derivative of that velocity is of order . Relative to gravity or pressure acceleration , the inertial correction is .
The hydrostatic approximation therefore holds to leading order while the column slowly cools and contracts. Non-turbulent evolution removes the prescribed turbulent heating, but not the compressional work in the ideal gas energy equation:The continuity equation must still determine the slow vertical flow; is not generally at fixed height. This is a quasi-static approximation for a well-prepared, mechanically stable column, with fast free oscillations or growing convection excluded from the assumed slow solution.
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