PX158 - I7c - chandrashekhar limit
- degenerate objects have a maximum mass above which they collapse
- the gravitational energy:
- the degeneracy energy:
-
exceeds with steeper scaling with -
however,
scales more rapidly with -
hence, if the radius contracts, the balance can be restored
-
if
and , the stars can support themselves -
but eventually, relativistic effects start becoming non-negligible and:
- now,
scales similarly as with , but does not - this imbalance cases the
to dominate, and the star collapses - the particular mass limit at which this occurs is called the chandrashekhar limit
- for white dwarfs:
- for neutron stars: