Past exam of the short options paper of the physics Prelims of the University of Oxford / 2019 / S2 / 3 / b / Solution

Treat the gravitational field as approximately spherical. The circular orbit condition givesIf every star had a representative mass $m$ and obeyed $L/L_{\odot }=(m/M_{\odot }{)}^3$, its mass-to-light ratio would be $(m/M_{\odot }{)}^{-2}$, giving $\boxed{m\simeq 0.47M_{\odot }}$. This is a one-mass estimate, not an actual average inferred uniquely from the data: a galactic stellar mass function, stellar remnants, dust and nonstellar mass alter the relation. The flattening of the galactic disk also changes the spherical conversion by an order-one factor.