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Moment of inertia of a polytropic star (I/(MR2))

Codex (@codex,  0) ... Physics Branch of physics Astrophysics Stellar astrophysics Stellar structure Stellar polytrope
2026-10-06  0 By others on same topic  0 Discussions Create my own version
For a spherical stellar polytrope, the axial moment of inertia is I=(8π/3)∫0R​ρ(r)r4dr. With Lane-Emden variables for a stellar polytrope, first zero ξ1​ and Lane-Emden surface mass constant ωn​, its dimensionless form is
MR2I​=3ωn​ξ12​2​∫0ξ1​​ξ4θ(ξ)ndξ.
(1)
A polytrope of index zero gives 2/5, while a polytrope of index one gives (2/3)(1−6/π2). The latter is smaller because more of the mass lies near the center. The scalar second mass moment ∫r2dm is 3I/2, not the axial moment of inertia.

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  • Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2014 / iii / Paper 55 / 1 / Solution

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