Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2020/ii/paper-1/9d/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 1 9D Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
The Hubble parameter is the fractional expansion rateHere is the homogeneous energy density, records the sign of the spatial curvature of an FLRW universe, and is the fixed curvature length scale used with the dimensionless scale factor .
Energy-momentum conservation in a homogeneous expanding universe gives the continuity equationDifferentiate the Friedmann equationUsing and the continuity equation givesEliminating the curvature term with the Friedmann equation yieldsSince , this is the Raychaudhuri equation
Under the strong energy condition , one has . Thus is concave, and for it lies below its tangent at the present time:The right side vanishes at . A positive scale factor therefore cannot extend regularly to that time; it must reach the Big Bang singularity at some . Equivalently,
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