Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2019/iii/paper-321/1/a/solution

Put . On the midplane, circular orbit balance gives . The specific angular momentum, specific orbital energy and orbital shear parameter of a Paczyński-Wiita circular orbit are therefore
For a small radial displacement at fixed specific angular momentum, the effective potential stability criterion gives the radial epicyclic frequency
Here is the question's epicyclic . Its square is negative for , so a radial displacement grows instead of undergoing epicyclic motion. The orbit at is marginal, and the outer orbits are stable to small radial displacements. At this inner edge,
This efficiency belongs to the Paczyński-Wiita potential; it is an approximation to the relativistic black-hole result.

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