Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The Chandrasekhar limit (/ ˌ tʃ ə n d r ə ˈ ʃ eɪ k ər /) [1] is the maximum mass of a stable white dwarf star. The currently accepted value of the Chandrasekhar limit is about 1.4 M ☉ ( 2.765 × 10 30 kg ).
In astrophysics, Chandrasekhar's white dwarf equation is an initial value ordinary differential equation introduced by the Indian American astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, [1] in his study of the gravitational potential of completely degenerate white dwarf stars.
The mass of an isolated, nonrotating white dwarf cannot exceed the Chandrasekhar limit of ~ 1.4 M ☉. This limit may increase if the white dwarf is rotating rapidly and nonuniformly. [197] White dwarfs in binary systems can accrete material from a companion star, increasing both their mass and their density.
If the star's mass is less than approximately 1.5 solar masses, the core will become degenerate before the Schönberg–Chandrasekhar limit is reached, and, on the other hand, if the mass is greater than approximately 6 solar masses, the star leaves the main sequence with a core mass already greater than the Schönberg–Chandrasekhar limit so ...
Above the Chandrasekhar limit, the gravitational pressure at the core exceeds the electron degeneracy pressure, and electrons begin to combine with protons to produce neutrons (via inverse beta decay, also termed electron capture). The result is an extremely compact star composed of "nuclear matter", which is predominantly a degenerate neutron ...
A second possible mechanism for triggering a Type Ia supernova is the merger of two white dwarfs whose combined mass exceeds the Chandrasekhar limit. The resulting merger is called a super-Chandrasekhar mass white dwarf. [23] [24] In such a case, the total mass would not be constrained by the Chandrasekhar limit.
During the dispute, Chandrasekhar was at the beginning of his career and Eddington was a renowned physicist of the time. Chandrasekhar had proposed a limit, now known as the Chandrasekhar limit, to the mass of a white dwarf star. In a series of conferences and encounters Eddington advocated for an alternative theory, openly criticizing and ...
Electron degeneracy pressure will halt the gravitational collapse of a star if its mass is below the Chandrasekhar limit (1.44 solar masses [6]). This is the pressure that prevents a white dwarf star from collapsing.