Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 iii Paper 68 2 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Put . With zero viscosity and , the wind-loaded Keplerian disk evolution equation becomesOn an interval with , introduce the inward travel-time coordinate and weighted densityPrimes on and denote the new variables, not differentiation. To verify the transformation, let and . Its logarithmic derivative satisfiesSince , multiplication of the density equation by W gives exactlyThis establishes inward transport by an angular-momentum-enhanced disk wind, including the amplitude weighting rather than only a characteristic speed.
The general local advection equation solution is ; an initial profile fixes F on the interval swept out by its characteristics. A constant wave phase therefore obeys , orThus the transformed wave propagates inward. The physical surface density is not a rigid profile in r: its weighting accounts for radial compression and loss of mass into the outflow. The same velocity follows independently from the mass flux in part (a), . If f vanishes, the coordinate change applies only on the neighboring positive-loss intervals; at a loss-free point this wind-driven velocity vanishes.
A magnetocentrifugal acceleration mechanism can produce . A poloidal field anchored to the disc transmits a torque to the outflow and enforces approximate corotation below its Alfvén surface. The wind's total specific angular momentum is , where is its cylindrical Alfvén radius, compared with the footpoint value . Hence for a lever arm beyond the footpoint. Magnetic stresses remove the surplus angular momentum and drive accretion without an effective internal viscosity.