Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2019/iii/paper-315/4/b/solution

Let be Jupiter's current total emitted luminosity. Under the stipulated split, its intrinsic luminosity after removal of sunlight is approximately . If the accessible energy reservoir down to is , the constant-luminosity estimate gives .
Assume the more massive giant has approximately the same radius as Jupiter, a comparable structure factor, and an accessible cooling reservoir scaling as , as in the Kelvin-Helmholtz cooling time. Assume also that the final cold state contributes negligibly to that reservoir and that the giant radiates at the constant stipulated luminosity . Then
Therefore
This is a characteristic scaling under the stated assumptions, not a detailed evolutionary age. A different mass-radius relation, a different accessible internal-energy fraction, or time-dependent luminosity changes the result; the mass and luminosity alone do not uniquely determine a cooling time.

New to topics? Read the docs here!