Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2015 / iii / Paper 54 / 1 / a

In the vacuum exterior, the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff equation gives $m^{\prime }=0$, so $m(r)=M$. The remaining metric function obeysThus $e^{2\Phi }=C(1-2M/r)$. A constant rescaling of the time coordinate removes $C$; equivalently, asymptotic flatness fixes $C=1$ when time is normalized at infinity. Consequently the exterior is the Schwarzschild metric:The mass $M=m(R)$ includes the full perfect fluid in general relativity interior. No equation of state beyond the surface enters this vacuum result.

A regular central expansion of the TOV equations requires $m(0)=0$. Once ${\rho }_c$ is chosen, the barotropic stellar equation of state fixes $p_c=p({\rho }_c)$. Smoothness at the centre forces the radial first derivatives of $p$ and $\rho$ to vanish. Expanding the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff equation givesSince $dp/d\rho >0$, the equation of state is locally invertible, and these coefficients determine the corresponding energy density expansion as well. Integrating the regular solution outward gives the surface at the first zero of the pressure, when such a finite surface exists. The ordinary differential equation uniqueness theorem then fixes the interior and its exterior mass from ${\rho }_c$.

The additive constant ${\Phi }_c$ is a time-coordinate normalization, not a second physical parameter. Matching to the Schwarzschild metric with time normalized at infinity fixes it. Therefore the regular stellar solutions, modulo time rescaling, have one physical parameter: ${\rho }_c$. This statement uses a suitably smooth fixed equation of state and refers to central densities for which the solution actually forms a regular star; not every central energy density need give a finite-radius configuration.

The useful high-density core bound from TOV compactness follows without choosing the unknown high-density equation of state. Let $a$ be the radius at which the decreasing energy density first reaches ${\rho }_0$, and put $\mu =m(a)$, $p_0=p({\rho }_0)$. The Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff equation gives $p^{\prime }<0$ away from a nonempty centre; since $dp/d\rho >0$, energy density decreases outward. HenceFor the local stellar compactness, if $z\ge 0$, $1-z+\sqrt{1+z}\le 2$, since its derivative is $-1+(2\sqrt{1+z}{)}^{-1}<0$. Applying the supplied compactness inequality at the core boundary therefore gives $\mu /a<4/9$. Combining the two bounds yieldsThe pressure-dependent form further restricts the allowed core-boundary data:In particular, positivity of its right side gives $6\pi a^2{p}_0<3$, so $a^2<1/(2\pi p_0)$ when $p_0>0$. These restrictions depend only on known quantities, not on the equation of state above ${\rho }_0$.

The intended stellar-mass argument now attaches the known low-density envelope to each admissible pair $(a,\mu )$ with pressure $p_0$. Its Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff equation involves only the known equation of state. For a physical low-density envelope with a uniformly bounded mass on this bounded set of core data, taking the supremum of the envelope-plus-core masses gives an upper mass limit independent of any high-density continuation. Stars with ${\rho }_c\le {\rho }_0$ are also determined entirely by the known equation of state. Unknown dense-core physics cannot evade the displayed core bounds.

A qualification is necessary for a claim about the entire star: the printed monotonicity assumptions alone do not guarantee a finite maximum total mass for an arbitrary known low-density equation of state. An explicit low-density polytropic mass divergence occurs for $p=K{\rho }^{5/4}$ with fixed $K>0$. In the low-density Newtonian limit, this is a stellar polytrope of index $n=4$, whose Lane-Emden equation has a finite first zero. With $\rho ={\rho }_c{\vartheta }^4$ and $r=\ell \xi$, hydrostatic balance fixeswhere ${\mu }_4>0$ is the dimensionless Lane-Emden surface mass constant. Thus $M\to \infty$ as ${\rho }_c\to 0$, although $M/R\propto {\rho }_c^{1/4}\to 0$. The first Lane-Emden zero is simple. The continuous dependence of an ODE solution on parameters therefore preserves this finite surface for sufficiently small relativistic parameter. The relativistic correction is controlled by $p_c/{\rho }_c=K{\rho }_c^{1/4}\to 0$, so the corresponding regular finite-radius Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff equation solutions have the same limiting scalings. They never sample $\rho >{\rho }_0$, and satisfy the local positivity and monotonicity assumptions in their nonvacuum interiors. This shows exactly why a suitable bounded-envelope hypothesis, or an appropriate restriction to physically stable stellar models, must accompany the intended total-mass conclusion. The compactness inequality supplies a bound on the unknown core, not a bound on the mass of every conceivable dilute envelope.