Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2021/iii/paper-317/4/solution

Let
be the local isothermal sound speed squared. Steady spherical mass conservation gives
The momentum equation, with radiative acceleration represented by the radiation-pressure gradient, is
Radiative diffusion in a star gives
Using and
this becomes
Substitution of and the continuity equation yields the wind equation
Its topology is that of the Parker wind equation. The coefficient of vanishes at the sonic line . A smooth transonic solution must pass through a critical point where the right-hand side also vanishes; generic subsonic solutions are breezes or turn back, while generic supersonic branches cannot be joined smoothly to a quasi-static stellar atmosphere.
At the critical point,
The assumed inequality makes the second factor positive and close to one. Since ,
Thus acceleration through a regular sonic point requires radiation to cancel most, but not all, of the effective gravity and in particular
If the local luminosity reached or exceeded in this diffusion model, the numerator would have the wrong sign for the subsonic branch to cross the sonic line smoothly under the cold-wind assumption.

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