Chandrasekhar limit

E9076

The Chandrasekhar limit is the maximum mass a white dwarf star can have before collapsing under its own gravity, playing a crucial role in determining its ultimate fate as a neutron star or black hole.


Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf astrophysical concept
physical limit
appliesTo white dwarf
appliesUnderAssumption cold white dwarf
no significant magnetic field
non-rotating white dwarf
basedOn Fermi–Dirac statistics
quantum mechanics
special relativity
contrastsWith Oppenheimer–Volkoff limit
Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff limit
dependsOn electron degeneracy pressure
gravitational self-attraction
mean molecular weight per electron
describes maximum mass of a stable white dwarf
determines stability of a white dwarf
field astrophysics
relativistic astrophysics
stellar astrophysics
hasApproximateRange 1.38–1.44 solar masses
hasApproximateValue 1.4 solar masses
hasConsequence gravitational collapse to a neutron star
onset of thermonuclear runaway in Type Ia supernovae
possible direct collapse to a black hole
hasFormula M_ch ≈ 5.83 / μ_e^2 solar masses
hasTheoreticalDerivationBy Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
influences formation of neutron stars
formation of stellar-mass black holes
isUpperBoundFor mass of carbon–oxygen white dwarfs
mass of helium white dwarfs
mass of oxygen–neon–magnesium white dwarfs
measuredIn solar mass
namedAfter Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
publishedIn Astrophysical Journal
relatedConcept Eddington limit
Jeans mass
Oppenheimer–Volkoff limit
relatedTo Pauli exclusion principle
relatesTo degenerate matter
equation of state of electron-degenerate matter
relevantTo Type Ia supernova
accreting white dwarfs
binary star evolution
thresholdFor collapse of a white dwarf
usedIn cosmological distance measurements via Type Ia supernovae
models of stellar evolution
supernova explosion models
yearProposed 1930


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