Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2022/iii/paper-310/2/c/solution

Photon decoupling occurs when the Thomson interaction rate falls below the expansion rate,
At decoupling the universe is approximately matter dominated, so
Using in gives
For , the Saha equation makes exponentially steep through . Power-law changes of or therefore cause only a small shift in , explaining why is a good approximation.

New to topics? Read the docs here!