Q1-1

Theory

English (Official)

LIGO (5 points).
The first detection of gravitational waves GW150414 was announced in 2016 by the collaboration LIGO
(Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory). The detected signal corresponds to the merger
of two black holes with masses of 35𝑀⊙ and 30𝑀⊙ , which when joined formed a black hole of 62𝑀⊙ . Ignor-
ing the rotational energies of the black holes, you may assume that the energy released by this process
(𝐸𝐺𝑊 ) is emitted solely in the form of gravitational waves, that were observed by the interferometer in
2015. You are given that the explosion of a supernova (SN) releases 𝐸𝑆𝑁 = 2 × 1044 𝐽 .

1.1 To find out which of these two events (SN, GW) releases more energy, estimate 5.0pt
the energy ratio 𝐸𝐸𝑆𝑁 .
𝐺𝑊
 Q2-1
Theory

English (Official)

Temperature of the Earth (10 points).

For at least the last few million years, the Earth has been in roughly thermal equilibrium with the radiation
from the Sun at the Earth's orbital distance.

2.1 Assuming our planet to be an ideal black body, calculate what the Earth's equi- 4.0pt
librium temperature (in Celsius) would be.

2.2 The Earth's albedo is approximately 30%. Calculate the Earth's surface temper- 2.0pt
ature (in Celsius) considering its albedo.

2.3 The Earth’s absorbed radiation is reemitted as black body radiation from its sur- 4.0pt
face, but its atmosphere re-absorbs 58% of that energy, causing a greenhouse
effect. Considering this effect, calculate the Earth's surface temperature (which
will be the same as the temperature of the lower atmosphere). Give your an-
swer in Celsius.
For simplicity, consider the reabsorption effect as happening only once, and do
not consider the atmosphere as a separate black body.
 
 Q3-1
Theory

English (Official)

Mars (10 points).

A spacecraft of mass 𝑚=5.0 × 104 𝑘𝑔 approaches in a parabolic orbit 𝐴𝐵, with respect to Mars. When
the spacecraft reaches point 𝐵 of least distance to the center of Mars, 𝑟𝐵 = 6.8 × 106 𝑚, it undergoes
an instantaneous deceleration using its rockets and goes into a perfectly calculated orbit so that it will
touch the Martian surface exactly at point 𝐶, diametrically opposite 𝐵, as shown in the figure.

3.1 Determine the speed (𝑘𝑚 𝑠−1 ) of the spacecraft at point 𝐵 just before the decel- 3.0pt
eration.

3.2 Calculate the total energy (𝐽 ) of the spacecraft as it is moving between points B 4.0pt
and C.

3.3 Calculate the speed (𝑘𝑚 𝑠−1 ) of the spacecraft at point 𝐶. 3.0pt
 Q4-1
Theory

English (Official)

ALMA - Calculating photons (10 points).

ALMA is a radio observatory with a revolutionary design. It consists of 66 high-precision antennas, op-
erating in the wavelength range from 0.32 𝑚𝑚 𝑡𝑜 8.60 𝑚𝑚. The principal array has fifty antennas of 12 𝑚
diameter each that can work together as a single telescope in the so-called interferometric mode. There
is also another array of four 12 𝑚 antennas, and twelve smaller antennas of 7 𝑚 diameter each.
Imagine that a single 12 𝑚 antenna is being calibrated, pointing to a source with a known incident flux
of 1 × 10−20 𝑊 /𝑚2

4.1 Assuming that all the flux arrives at the shortest wavelength of ALMA sensitivity, 2.0pt
determine the average number of photons that would reach the detector every
second.

4.2 Compare it to the average number of photons that would have reached the 2.0pt
detector, if all the flux arrived at the longest wavelength of operation.

4.3 What is the angular resolution (in arcsec) of a single 12 𝑚 antenna, operating at 2.0pt
74.9 𝐺𝐻𝑧?

4.4 Imagine the principal array operating at 74.9 𝐺𝐻𝑧 in the interferometric mode. 2.0pt
Assuming for simplicity that the spatial resolution is solely given by the longest
baseline (largest distance between any pair of antennas), which turns to be
𝐷max = 16 𝑘𝑚 , what would be the angular resolution (in arcsec) in this case?
Treat this case as a single slit aperture instead of a circular one.

4.5 For a radio antenna, the term SEFD refers to ‘System Equivalent Flux Density’, 2.0pt
which is a characteristic energy flux density of the antenna, depending on its
temperature and size. We also note that for energy estimation of radio pho-
tons, Rayleigh-Jeans approximation is valid. Assuming a system temperature
of 691 𝐾, what would be the SEFD of the full ALMA observatory in Jansky if all
the 66 antennas could work together?
 
 Q5-1
Theory

English (Official)

Under pressure (10 points).

Magnetic fields in the Sun are constantly shaping the structure of various different features in the Solar
atmosphere. Inside any feature, the magnetic field (B) adds to the total pressure exerted by the gas. This
so-called magnetic pressure is a function of the height z and can be expressed as:

𝐵2 (𝑧)
𝑃𝑚𝑎𝑔 (𝑧) =
2𝜇0

On the other hand, the gas can be considered to be in hydrostatic equilibrium and hence the gas pressure
decays exponentially from an initial pressure value 𝑃0 with increasing z. It can be expressed as,

𝑃𝑔𝑎𝑠 (𝑧) = 𝑃0 𝑒−𝑧/𝐻

where H is the scale height, i.e. the height at which the pressure falls to 𝑃0
𝑒 .

Consider one type of feature, a magnetic flux tube rising from the Solar surface up into an unmagnetized
environment (see Figure below). Assuming that the total pressure of the material inside the tube and of
the material outside it is in equilibrium,

5.1 Find an expression for the magnetic field strength as a function of height 𝑧. 7.0pt

5.2 If the magnetic field at the base of a flux tube is 0.3𝑇 , and scale height 𝐻 in a 3.0pt
given solar model is 150 𝑘𝑚, at what height will the magnetic field be reduced
to 0.03𝑇 ?
 Q6-1
Theory

English (Official)

Macondo and Melquiades (12 points).

In 2019, as a part of the NameExoWorlds campaign of the International Astronomical Union, Colombia
was granted an opportunity to select a name for the star HD 93083 and its planetary system. HD 93083
is a 𝐾 − 𝑡𝑦𝑝𝑒 dwarf star and has one extrasolar planet orbiting it. Today they are officially known as
Macondo (star) and Melquiades (planet), from the literary ideas of the Colombian writer Gabriel García
Márquez.
This star has an effective temperature of 4995 K and an apparent visual magnitude of 8.3. As per GAIA
DR2, the parallax for Macondo is 35.03 milliarcseconds. You may assume the orbit of Melquiades is
perfectly circular. In the figure you can see the plot of radial velocity of Macondo with respect to the
phase.

Radial velocity of Macondo (Y-axis in 𝑘𝑚 𝑠−1 ) as a function of the phase (X-axis).

6.1 Find the wavelength (𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑚) of peak emission for Macondo in its rest frame (i.e., 2.0pt
ignoring Doppler shifts).

6.2 Find the distance of this system from the Earth (in parsecs) and the absolute 2.0pt
visual magnitude (𝑀𝑉 ) of the star.

6.3 Calculate the mean radial velocity of Macondo (in 𝑘𝑚 𝑠−1 ). 2.0pt
 Q6-2
Theory

English (Official)

6.4 Calculate the orbital velocity (in km/s) of Melquiades (𝑣𝑝 ), if mass of the star 2.0pt
(𝑚𝑠 ) is 0.7 𝑀⊙ and the mass of exoplanet (𝑚𝑝 ) is 7 × 1026 𝑘𝑔. Assume that the
orbital plane of the system is edge-on with respect to our line-of-sight.

6.5 Find the orbital radius of Melquiades (in 𝑎𝑢) and its orbital period (in days). 4.0pt
 Q7-1
Theory

English (Official)

Menkalinan (β Aurigae) (13 points).

Almost half of the stars that we see are either binary or multiple star systems. A well-known example of
this is Menkalinan (Beta Aurigae), which was initially thought to be a single star, but today recognised as
a binary system comprising two stars that we will refer to as Menkalinan A and B. In the following figure,
a spectrum of the system (obtained by the observatory of the Universidad de los Andes, in Bogotá) is
shown:

Spectrum of Menkalinan binary system in the region of 𝐻𝛼. Y-axis is for the relative flux, and X-axis
measures wavelengths. Menkalinan A is marked as A in the graph, and Menkalinan B is marked as B.
Answer the following questions using the plot and noting that the wavelength of 𝐻𝛼 line in the laboratory
frame is 656.28 𝑛𝑚. Assume circular orbits, and assume that the binary system as a whole is at rest with
respect to the observer.

7.1 In the spectrum, we can see the 𝐻𝛼 line for each star in the system. Calculate 5.0pt
the line-of-sight velocity of each star (km/s) and determine, at the time of this
observation, which of the two stars is moving towards us.

7.2 The binary system is located 81.1 light years from Earth and has an orbital period 4.0pt
of 3.96 days. The semi-major axis for Menkalinan B (smaller star) was measured
to be 3.35 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠. If the mass ratio of the two components is 1.026, find
the total mass of the system (in solar masses).
 Q7-2
Theory

English (Official)

7.3 Calculate the individual masses of Menkalinan 𝐴 and 𝐵 in solar masses. 2.0pt

7.4 Since Menkalinan 𝐴 and 𝐵 are main sequence stars, use the relation: 2.0pt
𝐿 𝑀 3.5
=( )
𝐿⊙ 𝑀⊙
to estimate the luminosity of each star (in solar luminosity).
 Q8-1
Theory

English (Official)

IOAA Logo (15 points).

The IOAA2021 logo is formed by the acronym IOAA, where the first letter is represented by the silhouette
of the building of the National Astronomical Observatory (OAN) of Colombia, the oldest observatory in
America. This observatory is located in Bogota, where it was founded in 1803. The capital city of Colombia
is bordered by two famous hills, Monserrate and its neighbor Guadalupe, which are icons of Bogota’s
cityscape that decorate the logo’s background.

Aerial view of Bogota City. Numbers show locations for the quoted places: 1 is for OAN; 2 is
for Guadalupe; and 3 is for Monserrate.
 Q8-2
Theory

English (Official)

Elevation
Point Latitude Longitude
(m.a.s.l)
1 4∘ 35′ 53″ 𝑁 74∘ 04′ 37″ 𝑊 2607
2 ∘ ′
4 35 30 𝑁″ ∘ ′
74 03 15 𝑊″
3296
3 ∘ ′
4 36 18 𝑁″ ∘ ′
74 03 19 𝑊″
3100

8.1 Estimate the distance (in km), between points 2 (Guadalupe) and 3 (Monserrate). 3.0pt

8.2 Estimate the angular separation (in degrees) between Guadalupe (2) and Mon- 6.0pt
serrate (3) as observed from the National Astronomical Observatory of Colom-
bia (1).

8.3 From the OAN, on September 21 at 8:00 p.m. the Moon was observed towards 6.0pt
the eastern hills (between Monserrate and Guadalupe). The measured ecliptic
coordinates (longitude and latitude) of the Moon are shown in the table. Deter-
mine the equatorial coordinates of the Moon at the time of observation.
 Q8-3
Theory

English (Official)

Local Time: 8:00 p.m.

𝐴𝑧 ∶ +90∘ 42′ 59″ /𝐴𝑙𝑡 ∶ +19∘ 01′ 42″
𝜆 ∶ +12∘ 20′ 16″ / 𝛽 ∶ −04∘ 24′ 14″

Note: Azimuth measured from North to East.

 Q9-1
Theory

English (Official)

Pluto Satellites (15 points).

9.1 The mass of Charon, the biggest satellite of Pluto, is 1/8th the mass of Pluto. 15.0pt
Both bodies move in a circular orbit around a common center of mass. In addi-
tion, they both are tidally-locked.
The distance between the center of the planet and the center of the satellite
is𝑅 = 19 640 𝑘𝑚 and radius of the satellite is 𝑟 = 593 𝑘𝑚.
 
Let 𝑔0 be the gravitational acceleration on the surface of Charon due only to its
mass.Let A be the point on Charon surface directly facing Pluto, and B the point
diametrically opposite. Compute the percentage difference between gravita-
tional acceleration at A and B respect to 𝑔0 .
 
 Q10-1
Theory

English (Official)

Terrestrial Transit (15 points).

Note: Assume perfect circular orbits in both questions below.

10.1 An alien astronomer from a distant planetary system is observing the Sun. Sud- 5.0pt
denly, the brightness of the Sun drops due to the transit of the Earth in front of
it. What is the maximum duration that this transit may last (in hours)? Assume
that the planet where the astronomer observes from, does not move relative to
the Sun.

10.2 Imagine that the transit of a given exoplanet as seen from Earth lasts 31 min- 10.0pt
utes. The host star is a red dwarf, with mass and radius that are 10% of the
mass and radius of the Sun. What is the minimum orbital period this exoplanet
may have (in days)?
 Q11-1
Theory

English (Official)

Minimum velocity of a projectile (15 points).

11.1 What is the minimum speed with which a projectile must be launched from the 12.0pt
Earth's surface at the equator such that the projectile reaches the north pole?

11.2 Find the eccentricity of the trajectory described by the projectile 3.0pt

You may ignore the rotation of the Earth. Also assume the earth surface is spherical.

Reference Chart
 Q12-1
Theory

English (Official)

Hodograph (15 points).

In curvilinear motion of a planet around a star, the direction of the velocity vector changes continuously.
This can be represented by a so-called "trajectory in velocity space" and is obtained as follows: for each
point on the spatial trajectory, the corresponding velocity vector is drawn so that its starting point is at
the origin of the velocity space, and its magnitude and direction is the same as the velocity vector at that
point. The tip of this variable velocity vector generates a curve in velocity space. (The name 'hodograph'
was given to this curve by Hamilton in 1846.)
As an example, see figures 1 and 2 below. For a circular orbit (Figure 1), the magnitude of the velocity is
constant and therefore, the hodograph (Figure 2) of the velocity vector for Keplerian circular motion is
also a circle, the center of which is located at the origin of the velocity space. The radius of this circle is
equal to the constant magnitude of the circular velocity.

Fig. 1 Spatial trajectory of the Planet with Uniform Circular Motion around the star.

Fig. 2 Corresponding hodograph

 Q12-2
Theory

English (Official)

12.1 Write an expression for the radius of the hodograph in Fig. 2, as a function of 1.0pt
the mass 𝑀 of the star, and the radius 𝑅 of the circular orbit of the planet's
motion.

12.2 For a planet in a Keplerian trajectory, write the expression for centripetal ac- 4.0pt
celeration vector (𝑎)⃗ and the magnitude of angular momentum (𝐿). For any
Keplerian trajectory, it is true that

∣ Δ𝑣 ∣= 𝑘Δ𝜃 (1)
Where 𝑘 is a constant for each type of Keplerian trajectory. Find the expression
for the constant 𝑘 as a function of the masses 𝑀 and 𝑚 of the star and the
planet, respectively, and the angular momentum, 𝐿.
(Eq.1) allows us to conclude that for any Keplerian trajectory, the hodograph
(𝑣 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑓𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝜃) is a circle, but except for circular motion, the centre of
the hodograph does not coincide with the star. It is not necessary to prove
this result, you may simply accept it as a given. For the hodograph of uniform
circular motion, the compliance with (eq.1) is completely obvious, as evidenced
in Fig. 3

Fig. 3

12.3 Determine the expression of the constant 𝑘 for the hodograph of circular plan- 2.0pt
etary motion.
 Q12-3
Theory

English (Official)

12.4 Given that the hodograph of the Keplerian elliptical motion is a circle, determine 4.0pt
the radius of this hodograph and the distance between the center of the hodo-
graph and the position of the star, as a function of the velocities at periastron
and apoastron. Draw a rough sketch of the hodograph in the answer sheet as
per the schematic shown in Fig. 4. The black circle is the star.

Fig. 4

12.5 Similarly, for the parabolic Keplerian trajectory, determine the radius of the cor- 4.0pt
responding hodograph and the distance from the center of that hodograph cir-
cle to the star. Express the radius as a function of the velocity at periastron.
Draw a rough sketch of the hodograph circle in the answer sheet.
 Q13-1
Theory

English (Official)

Lucy: The First Mission to the Trojan Asteroids (15 points).

CCD cameras on space probes are very sensitive and exposed to space weather conditions. Intense
radiation passing through the CCD produces electron-hole pairs in the silicon of the CCD chip. The rate at
which these pairs are produced is an important parameter when operating cameras on board spacecraft
and can be calculated for radiation of any given energy.
A high energy particle or photon of radiation passing through the CCD will deposit some energy in the
chip with each electron-hole pair it creates. The ‘stopping power’ of silicon for a given type of particle can
be measured as the energy per areal density (𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎) that the silicon ‘takes
away’ from the travelling particle.
NASA's Lucy mission will be the first to study the Trojan asteroids and will revolutionize our understanding
of the formation of the Solar System. One of the instruments on board is L'LORRI (Lucy LOng Range
Reconnaissance Imager), which contains a sensitive CCD in order to produce detailed images of the
Trojan asteroids. Unfortunately, the radiation around Jupiter is very intense and it can generate a lot of
‘noise’ in the pixels of the CCD.
Let us assume that an average charged particle trapped in Jupiter's magnetic field has an energy of
15 𝑀 𝑒𝑉 and that the flux of such particles in this region is equivalent to about 600 electrons 𝑠−1 𝑐𝑚−2 .
Also assume that for each electron-hole pair which a particle passing through a pixel creates, it deposits
exactly the excitation energy of the pair in that pixel. After the pixel crosses a threshold number of
electron-hole pairs it is ‘excited’ and no more pairs can be produced in that pixel. Any remaining energy
in the particle is passed to the next pixel (and so on).
Using the data given below for the CCD chip in the L’LORRI camera, answer the following questions:

13.1 How many pixels will be excited by one such particle of radiation passing 10.0pt
through the CCD when the spacecraft is near Jupiter's orbit?

13.2 Given the radiation flux near Jupiter, what percentage of the total number of 5.0pt
pixels in an image will be excited?
 Q13-2
Theory

English (Official)

CCD Data:
• Exposure time of an image = 30 ms
• Pixels on the CCD = 1024 x 1024
• CCD Area = 13 mm x 13 mm
• CCD chip thickness = 0.06 cm
• Density of silicon, 𝜌 = 2.34 g cm−3
• Excitation energy of single pair = 2.36 eV
• Excitation threshold of a single pixel = 250 pairs
• Stopping power’ of silicon for a 15 MeV electron = 3.012 MeV g−1 cm2
 Q14-1
Theory

English (Official)

Formation of the Venus-2 (35 points).

A comet of mass 𝛼𝑚 is heading ("falls") radially towards the Sun. It is known that the total mechanical
energy of the comet is zero. The comet crashes into Venus, whose mass is 𝑚. We further assume that
the orbit of Venus, before the collision, is circular with radius 𝑅0 . After the crash, the comet and Venus
form a single object, called “Venus-2”.

14.1 Find the expression in terms of 𝑀𝑠𝑢𝑛 and 𝑅0 for the orbital speed, 𝑣0 , of Venus 1.0pt
before the collision.

14.2 Find an expression for the total mechanical energy of Venus in its orbit before 1.0pt
colliding with the comet.

14.3 Find an expression for the radial velocity, 𝑣𝑟 , the angular momentum, 𝐿 , of 10.0pt
"Venus-2" immediately after the collision.

14.4 Find an expression for the mechanical energy of the combined object “Venus-2" 5.0pt
and express it in terms of energy before the collision, 𝐸𝑖 , and 𝛼 .

14.5 Show that the post-collision orbit of “Venus-2” is elliptical and determine the 5.0pt
semi-major axis of the orbit.

14.6 Determine if the year for the inhabitants of “Venus-2” has been shortened or 3.0pt
lengthened because of collision with the comet. Write the ratio between the
period of Venus-2 and Venus.
 Q14-2
Theory

English (Official)

14.7 What should be the value of 𝛼 such that the post-collision orbit of Venus-2 would 5.0pt
make it crash in the Sun? We will call this as 𝛼𝑐

14.8 A comet with 𝛼 = 𝛼𝑐 collided with Venus. Calculate the percentage change in 5.0pt
the magnitude of Venus’ velocity (𝛿𝑣) and the change in the direction of the
velocity vector (𝛿𝜃) immediately after the collision.
 Q15-1
Theory

English (Official)

Cosmic String (55 points).

Introduction

According to our current understanding, just after the Big Bang, when the Universe was extremely hot,
the electromagnetic force, the strong nuclear force as well as the weak nuclear force were unified as one
Grand Unified (GUT) force.
When the Universe cooled down to 𝑇𝐺𝑈𝑇 = 1029 𝐾, the strong nuclear force decoupled from the elec-
troweak force. Later, when the temperature reduced to 𝑇𝐸𝑊 = 1015 𝐾, the weak force decoupled from
the electromagnetic force. These transitions happened in a rapid succession within a small fraction of
a second after the Big Bang. It is thought that these phase transitions produced a variety of peculiar
objects, called vacuum defects, which may still be observed today.
This question will discuss properties of one such possible type of defect called cosmic strings and their
observational effects.
Note 1. Unless otherwise stated use the laws of Newtonian Mechanics
Note 2. You will use the following constants:
• Stefan Boltzmann Constant

4 4
2𝜋5 𝑘𝐵 𝜋 2 𝑘𝐵
𝜎= = 3
15 ℎ3 𝑐2 60 ħ 𝑐2
• The reduced Planck constant

ℎ
ħ=
2𝜋
• Universal Radiation Constant

4𝜎
𝑎= = 7.5657 × 10−16 𝐽 𝑚−3 𝐾 −4
𝑐
• Planck Temperature

ħ𝑐5
𝑇𝑝𝑙 = √ 2
= 1.416784 × 1032 𝐾
𝐺𝑘𝐵

Note 3. Recall that the gravitational field 𝑔 ⃗ satisfies the Gauss theorem:

𝑔 ⃗ ⋅ 𝐴 ⃗ = −4𝜋𝐺𝑀𝑖𝑛

Where 𝑀𝑖𝑛 is the mass enclosed by the surface A.

 Q15-2
Theory

English (Official)

Part A: Gravitational Field of a Cosmic String (22 points).

As a first approximation, let us consider a cosmic string as an infinitely long cylinder of radius 𝑟0 and
mass per unit length 𝜇 .

A.1 Write an expression in terms of the constants 𝐺, 𝜇 and 𝑟0 for the gravitational 6.0pt
field produced by the string, 𝑔(𝑟).
⃗
Consider the cases 𝑟0 < 𝑟 and 𝑟0 > 𝑟 independently

A.2 Write an expression in terms of the constants 𝐺, 𝜇 and 𝑟0 for 𝑔0 ≡ |𝑔(𝑟

⃗ 0 )|. 1.0pt
 

A.3 Let 𝑔 be defined as 𝑔(𝑟)

⃗ ⋅ 𝑟.̂ Draw a rough sketch of 𝑔 vs. 𝑟 in the figure given in 3.0pt
the answer sheet
 Q15-3
Theory

English (Official)

A.4 It is possible to define a stable orbit around a Cosmic String. For circular orbits 4.0pt
of radius 𝑅 > 𝑟0 and period τ, the following relation is attained

𝑅 = 𝐴𝜏 𝛼
where 𝐴 and 𝛼 are constants. Find 𝐴 and 𝛼 in terms of 𝐺 and 𝜇

The following three questions refers to a classical newtonian particle moving with speed 𝑣 when at a
distance 𝑟 > 𝑟0 from the string. You will need to use the result below:

𝑥
𝑑𝑥 𝑥
∫ = ln ( )
𝑥0 𝑥 𝑥0

A.5 Show that the gravitational potential energy of the particle is 3.0pt
𝑟
𝑈 = 𝐺𝑚𝜇 ln ( )
𝑏
where 𝑏 is any fixed distance.

A.6 What is the maximum distance, 𝑅max , from the string, that the particle can 4.0pt
reach?

A.7 Is it possible for the particle to escape the gravitational field? Write YES/NO in 1.0pt
the answer sheet.
 Q15-4
Theory

English (Official)

Part B: Cosmic string as a photon gas (17 points).

Consider now a cosmic string as a photon gas inside a very long cylinder of radius 𝑟0 with adiabatic walls,
and in thermal equilibrium at temperature 𝑇 .

B.1 What is the energy density 𝜌 of the string in terms of 𝑇 , ħ, 𝑘𝐵 and 𝑐 ? 2.0pt

B.2 The radius 𝑟0 is related to the temperature 𝑇 vía 4.0pt

𝑛1
ħ 𝑐𝑛2
𝑟0 = ,
𝑘𝐵 𝑇
where ħ is the reduced Planck constant, and 𝑐 is the speed of light in vacuum,
𝑘𝐵 is the Boltzmann constant, and 𝑛1 and 𝑛2 are integer numbers. Determine
𝑛1 and 𝑛2

B.3 What is the mass per unit length, 𝜇 , of the string in terms of 𝜌 and 𝑟0 ? 2.0pt

B.4 Express the inequality for the weak field condition, defined as 5.0pt

2𝐺𝜇
≪ 1,
𝑐2
only in terms of 𝑇 and 𝑇𝑝𝑙 .

B.5 Calculate 2𝐺𝜇

𝑐2 for 3.0pt

•𝑇 = 𝑇𝐸𝑊

•𝑇 = 𝑇𝐺𝑈𝑇

B.6 Does the weak field condition hold for 𝑇𝐸𝑊 ? Answer YES or NOT. 1.0pt
Does the weak field condition hold for 𝑇𝐺𝑈𝑇 ? Answer YES or NOT.
 Q15-5
Theory

English (Official)

Part C: Gravitational Lensing from cosmic Strings (16 points).

So far, in part 𝐴 and 𝐵 , we have neglected the internal pressure of the photon gas inside the string. If
we include it in our analysis, we need to consider the General Theory of Relativity.
After solving the Einstein field equations, one finds that the spacetime around a cosmic string is conical
as if a narrow wedge were removed from a flat sheet and the edges connected, as shown below.

http://www.ctc.cam.ac.uk/outreach/origins/cosmic_structures_five.php

A remarkable result of this model is light deflection by a cosmic string, which leads to the possibility of
detection through gravitational lensing.
The angle of deflection (in radians) of a light ray coming from a distant quasar (O in the figure below), as
the light passes close to a cosmic string (S in the figure below) and eventually reaching an observer on
the Earth, (E in the figure below), is

4𝜋𝐺𝜇
𝛿𝜙 =
𝑐2

and is independent of the parameter, 𝑝, as shown in the figure below:

In the figure 𝐸 and 𝑂 are in a plane perpendicular to the string. The distance between the observer and
the string is 𝐷𝐸𝑆 and the distance between the observer and the source is 𝐷𝑂𝐸

C.1 Although the angle of deflection does not depend on parameter 𝑝, an Earth- 6.0pt
based observer will be able to see more than one image only if the value of 𝑝
is within a certain range. Find a condition on the value of the parameter 𝑝 in
terms of 𝐷𝐸𝑆 , 𝐷𝑂𝐸 , and temperature 𝑇 , for an Earth-based observer to see
more than one image of the object 𝑂

C.2 In case the observer sees more than one image, what is the angular separation 6.0pt
between each pair? Find an expression in terms of 𝐷𝐸𝑆 , 𝐷𝑂𝐸 and 𝛿𝜙
 Q15-6
Theory

English (Official)

C.3 If 𝐷𝑂𝐸 = 2𝐷𝐸𝑆 , determine the minimum size of an optical telescope needed to 4.0pt
resolve this lensing event produced by GUT string.