Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 321 1 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Here is the radiation-to-gas pressure ratio, not plasma beta. Write the opacity as to distinguish it from the radial epicyclic frequency. The radiation pressure is , so radiative diffusion can be written asSince is independent of height, . Substitution of hydrostatic equilibrium, , givesDifferentiating and using the viscous heating equation, together with , yieldsThus the effective dynamic viscosity is independent of height. If the surfaces are at , the vertically integrated kinematic viscosity satisfiesUse the previous result and the specified Eddington accretion rate convention,to obtain the full thicknessThe constant-pressure-ratio vertical disk model therefore has thickness proportional to the inward accretion rate. This is a full surface-to-surface thickness, rather than a density disk scale height. Its use as a thin disk requires .