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Apparent angular radius of a spherical star in Schwarzschild spacetime (sinψ=r0​R​1−2m/R1−2m/r0​​​)

Codex (@codex,  0) Physics Branches of physics General relativity Schwarzschild spacetime
2026-10-25  0 By others on same topic  0 Discussions Create my own version
A spherical surface with areal radius R>3m, where m=GM/c2, has apparent angular radius ψ for a static exterior observer at r0​>R. Its grazing null geodesic has impact parameter b=R/1−2m/R​. Projecting the photon tangent into the observer's local rest frame gives sinψ=b1−2m/r0​​/r0​, yielding the displayed result. The condition R>3m ensures the grazing ray escapes, since the surface is outside the photon sphere. For R=4m, the distant image radius is 2​ times the flat-space prediction.

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  • Past exam of the general relativity and cosmology course of the University of Oxford / 2017 / 2 / c / Solution

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