Past exam of the short options paper shared by Prelims and Parts A and B of the physics course of the University of Oxford / 2017 / S2

For two isolated point masses in a Newtonian bound orbit, $\boxed{P^2=4{\pi }^2{a}^3/[G(M_s+M_p)]}$, where $a$ is the relative orbit's semimajor axis. For a negligible planet mass, using years, astronomical units and solar masses gives $(P/\mathrm{yr}{)}^2=(a/\mathrm{AU}{)}^3/(M_s/M_{\odot })$. The mass in the denominator is the total gravitating mass, not the planet's mass alone.

Circular edge-on motion gives $V_s=2\pi a_s/P$ and center-of-mass balance gives $a_s=a{M}_p/(M_s+M_p)$. Eliminate $a$ using the preceding period relation:Thus $\boxed{M_p^3\simeq P{V}_s^3{M}_s^2/(2\pi G)}$ when $M_p\ll M_s$. For a non-edge-on orbit the measured velocity instead determines $M_p\sin i$ to this accuracy; neglecting eccentricity is also part of the stipulated model.

A luminosity does not determine a stellar mass without a mass-luminosity calibration. Using the usual approximate main-sequence law $L/L_{\odot }=(M_s/M_{\odot }{)}^{\alpha }$ gives $M_s=3^{1/\alpha }{M}_{\odot }$. With $\alpha =3.5$, the numerical results areThe angular radius follows directly from $a(\mathrm{AU})/d(\mathrm{pc})$. Taking $\alpha =4$ changes these estimates by only a few percent, but the calibration must be stated. Hubble's 2.4 m aperture has visible-light diffraction scale $1.22\lambda /D\simeq 0.05$ arcsec at 500 nm, hundreds of times larger. The separation is therefore unresolved even before the severe star/planet contrast is considered.

The effective temperature is defined by $\boxed{L=4\pi R_{\ast }^2\sigma T_{\mathrm{eff}}^4}$, with bolometric luminosity $L$, photospheric radius $R_{\ast }$ and Stefan-Boltzmann constant $\sigma$. It is the blackbody temperature giving the same total surface flux, not a claim that each spectral line forms at that temperature.

The parallax gives $d=20$ pc and the distance modulus gives $M_{\mathrm{bol}}=-0.641-5{\log }_{10}2=-2.146$. Therefore $L/L_{\odot }=10^{(4.72-M_{\mathrm{bol}})/2.5}\simeq 558$. Taking $T_{\odot }\simeq 5772$ K,This is a cool luminous giant, in the red-giant region of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. On the usual first-ascent interpretation, luminosity comes predominantly from hydrogen shell burning around an inert helium core, with gravitational adjustment also contributing. The two measured quantities alone do not uniquely determine evolutionary history: a later giant phase can overlap this region, so they do not prove the precise core-burning state.

A continuum peak gives a color temperature through Wien's law, provided the continuum is approximately Planckian and extinction is corrected. Broad-band colors or a fitted spectral energy distribution compare flux ratios with model atmospheres; they require a reddening estimate, abundance and gravity assumptions, and calibrated passbands. Spectroscopic line ratios or excitation/ionization balances provide another thermometer, requiring atomic data and a suitable atmosphere model, often local thermodynamic equilibrium.

For this cool giant, line blanketing and molecular absorption substantially distort a simple continuum peak, so Wien's law is the least reliable of these approximations. A detailed spectroscopic analysis, checked against a multi-band atmosphere fit, would generally be the strongest of the three if good data and model parameters are available. There is no unconditional accuracy ranking without measurement errors and model systematics; an accurately measured angular diameter plus bolometric flux would offer a more direct effective-temperature determination, if obtainable.

At a fixed cosmological time, homogeneous expansion has $\mathbf{v}=H(t)\mathbf{r}$. A comoving galaxy has $\mathbf{r}=R(t)\mathbf{x}$ with constant $\mathbf{x}$, hence $\mathbf{v}=\dot{R}\mathbf{x}=(\dot{R}/R)\mathbf{r}$. Thus $\boxed{H=\dot{R}/R}$. Peculiar velocities must be removed before applying this ideal relation to individual galaxies.

Set the spatial-curvature constant to zero in the stipulated matter-only Friedmann equation to get ${\rho }_c=3H^2/(8\pi G)$. Conservation of pressureless matter with $R(t_0)=1$ gives $\rho ={\rho }_0/R^3$, and thereforeChoosing the Big Bang as $t=0$ yields $R=(t/t_0{)}^{2/3}$ and $H=2/(3t)$. Consequently $\boxed{t_0=2/(3H_0)\simeq 9.3\mathrm{Gyr}}$ for the supplied $H_0$. This is the age of the flat pressureless model without a cosmological constant, not a determination in the current multi-component cosmological model.

The matter rest-energy density is ${\rho }_m{c}^2\simeq 2.25\times 10^{-10}$ J m${}^{-3}$, whereas the given photon density is $8.01\times 10^{-14}$ J m${}^{-3}$. Their present ratio is about $2.8\times 10^3$. Matter scales as $(1+z{)}^3$ and freely redshifting radiation as $(1+z{)}^4$, soThis compares matter specifically with the supplied CMB photons. Adding relativistic neutrinos changes the total radiation equality redshift; it is not included in these data.