Chandrasekhar limit
maximum mass of a stable white dwarf star, approximately 1.4 solar masses
The Chandrasekhar limit () is the maximum mass of a stable white dwarf star. These stars resist gravitational collapse primarily through electron degeneracy pressure, compared to main sequence stars, which resist collapse through thermal pressure. The Chandrasekhar limit is the mass above which electron degeneracy pressure in the star's core is insufficient to balance the star's own gravitational self-attraction. The value of the Chandrasekhar limit depends upon the ratio of the number of electrons to nucleons (neutrons plus protons) in the star. For small stars this ratio is around 1/2 and the limit is about 1.44 M☉. The limit was named after Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar who won the 1983 Nobel prize together with William Alfred Fowler for work on stellar models.
Physics
Normal stars fuse gravitationally compressed hydrogen into helium, generating vast amounts of heat. As the hydrogen is consumed, the stars' core compresses further allowing the helium and heavier nuclei to fuse ultimately resulting in stable iron nuclei, a process called stellar evolution. The next step depends upon the mass of the star. Stars below the Chandrasekhar limit become stable white dwarf stars, remaining that way throughout the rest of the history of the universe (assuming the absence of external forces).
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