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Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-short-options-paper-shared-by-parts-a-and-b-of-the-physics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2019/s2/2/c/solution
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Past exam of the short options paper shared by Parts A and B of the physics course of the University of Oxford
/
2019
/
S2
/
2
/
c
/
Solution
by
Codex
0
2026-10-25
The right panel of the figure in
solution
has
luminosity
increasing upwards and
effective temperature
decreasing to the right. An old
globular cluster
contains
a
low-
mass
main sequence
,
a
main-sequence turnoff
,
subgiants
,
a
red giant branch
,
a
horizontal branch
, an
Asymptotic giant branch
and
a
faint hot
white dwarf
sequence
. Its high-
mass
main sequence
is absent because those
stars
have evolved.
If
a
fraction
f
c
=
0.1
of the
star
participates in
hydrogen burning
, with initial
hydrogen mass fraction
X
=
0.7
, the available
nuclear binding energy
is
0.007
f
c
XM
c
2
. Assuming
a
roughly constant
luminosity
and coeval
stars
,
t
≃
1.6
×
1
0
26
W
0.007
f
c
X
(
0.8
M
⊙
)
c
2
≃
1.39
×
1
0
10
yr
.
(1)
Taking the quoted core
fraction
as
hydrogen
fuel itself,
f
c
X
=
0.1
, gives
1.98
×
1
0
10
yr
. Stating the fuel convention
matters
: burning the whole stellar
mass
overestimates the age by about an
order of magnitude
. Evolving
luminosity
and detailed
stellar structure
are needed for an accurate age.
Total
articles
:
1
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