Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2025/iii/paper-317/3/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 iii Paper 317 3 Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
For , the specific enthalpy isHydrostatic equilibrium says . Taking a Laplacian and using the gravitational Poisson equation gives the Helmholtz equation
For a spherical star, regularity at the centre selects the stellar polytropeIts first zero is , henceDirect integration gives , and therefore
On the cube, the separated positive solutionvanishes on all six faces. It solves the same Helmholtz equation whenThe mean of each sine over is , so
The interior fields formally solve the local structure equations, but an isolated fluid surface must be an equipotential and its interior gravitational field must match a decaying exterior solution with continuous normal derivative. A cube does not satisfy the global free-boundary conditions for a nonrotating self-gravitating barotrope. Such sharp planar faces and edges are also not observed in stars; ordinary pressure and gravity smooth the body toward a sphere.
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