Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-1-paper-of-the-university-of-oxford/2021-resit/9/b/solution

Retain the unchanged-angular momentum assumption of the preceding part. The initial orbit has radius , and the desired pericentre distance is . Using gives
The required fractional increase in initial kinetic energy is therefore
Here because the instantaneous kick does not change potential energy. Since the initial total orbital energy is , an alternative convention for the requested fractional energy change gives
The total orbital energy becomes less negative. Explicitly specifying its denominator avoids interpreting a positive energy input as a decrease of energy.

New to topics? Read the docs here!