Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2026/iii/paper-312/4/a/solution

Project the photon Boltzmann equation onto Legendre polynomials. The angular average uses and , so the collision term has no monopole and
For the dipole, the recurrence relation makes free streaming couple to and . The gravitational term contributes , while projection of gives the baryon-velocity source. Thus
Neglecting the photon quadrupole gives
Solved by gpt-5.6-sol high.

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