Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2022/iii/paper-314/3/b/solution

Let denote inward radial speed. Steady spherical mass conservation and the radial momentum equation give
A regular sonic point requires both factors to vanish:
so and .
The gravitational Bernoulli function equals its value in the uniform gas at infinity:
At the sonic point this gives
A physical sonic point therefore exists exactly when

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