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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). [2] [3] [4] The limit was named after Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. [5]
where is the mass, is the mean molecular weight, index c denotes the core, and index e is the envelope. The Schönberg–Chandrasekhar limit comes into play when fusion in a main-sequence star exhausts the hydrogen at the center of the star. The star then contracts until hydrogen fuses in a shell surrounding a helium-rich core, both of which ...
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.
This is the limiting value of the mass – called the Chandrasekhar limit – at which the white dwarf can no longer be supported by electron degeneracy pressure. The graph on the right shows the result of such a computation. It shows how radius varies with mass for non-relativistic (blue curve) and relativistic (green curve) models of a white ...
According to the current understanding, white dwarf stars explode as Type Ia supernovas when their mass approaches 1.4 solar masses, termed the Chandrasekhar limit. The mass added to the star is believed to be donated by a companion star, either from the companion's stellar wind or the overflow of its Roche lobe as it evolves. [3]
There is an upper limit to the mass of an electron-degenerate object, the Chandrasekhar limit, beyond which electron degeneracy pressure cannot support the object against collapse. The limit is approximately 1.44 [ 8 ] solar masses for objects with typical compositions expected for white dwarf stars (carbon and oxygen with two baryons per ...
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (/ ˌ tʃ ə n d r ə ˈ ʃ eɪ k ər /; [3] 19 October 1910 – 21 August 1995) [4] was an Indian-American theoretical physicist who made significant contributions to the scientific knowledge about the structure of stars, stellar evolution and black holes.
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 Chandrasekhar limit, indicating a maximum limit for the mass of a white dwarf star. In a series of conferences and encounters Eddington advocated for an alternative theory ...