Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ii Paper 1 15D c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Radiation conservation givesConsequentlyEvaluating at , where , shows thatPutThen . Choosing the big bang as and integrating givesThereforewhere
At early times, , so , as in a radiation-dominated universe. At late times,the expected de Sitter expansion with .
Acceleration begins when the radiation deceleration and cosmological-constant acceleration balance:Thus , which in the exact solution means . HenceThis is the radiation-to-cosmological-constant transition.