Another commonly calculated velocity in galactic dynamics is the escape velocity vesc, that is the minimum velocity a star must have in order to escape the gravitational field of the galaxy. (a) Starting from the work required to move a body over a distance dr against f show that the escape velocity from a point mass galaxy is vsc = 2GM/r where r is your initial distance. (b) Since we know galaxies aren't actually point-masses, also show that vesc from r for a galaxy with a p(r) x r-² density profile is vese = 2v?(1+ ln(R/r)). Here you must assume that R is a cutoff radius at which the mass density is zero. (c) The largest velocity measured for any star in the solar neighbourhood, at r=8 kpc, is 440 km/s. Assuming that this star is still bound to the galaxy, find the lower limit (in kiloparsecs), to the cutoff radius R and a lower limit (in solar units) to the mass of the galaxy. Note the solar rotation velocity is 220 km/s.

Another commonly calculated velocity in galactic dynamics is the escape velocity vesc, that is the minimum velocity a star must have in order to escape the gravitational field of the galaxy. (a) Starting from the work required to move a body over a distance dr against f show that the escape velocity from a point mass galaxy is vsc = 2GM/r where r is your initial distance. (b) Since we know galaxies aren't actually point-masses, also show that vesc from r for a galaxy with a p(r) x r-² density profile is vese = 2v?(1+ ln(R/r)). Here you must assume that R is a cutoff radius at which the mass density is zero. (c) The largest velocity measured for any star in the solar neighbourhood, at r=8 kpc, is 440 km/s. Assuming that this star is still bound to the galaxy, find the lower limit (in kiloparsecs), to the cutoff radius R and a lower limit (in solar units) to the mass of the galaxy. Note the solar rotation velocity is 220 km/s.