Chandrasekhar limit

American  

[shahn-druh-sey-kahr] / ˌʃɑn drəˈseɪ kɑr /

noun

Astronomy.

1. the mass limit above which a star has too much mass to become a white dwarf after gravitational collapse, approximately 1.44 solar masses.

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Chandrasekhar limit British  

noun

1. astronomy the upper limit to the mass of a white dwarf, equal to 1.44 solar masses. A star having a mass above this limit will continue to collapse to form a neutron star

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Chandrasekhar limit Scientific  

1. The maximum size of a stable white dwarf, approximately 3 × 10 ³⁰ kg (about 1.4 times the mass of the Sun). Stars with mass higher than the Chandrasekhar limit ultimately collapse under their own weight and become neutron stars or black holes. Stars with a mass below this limit are prevented from collapsing by the degeneracy pressure of their electrons.

2. See more at degeneracy pressure

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Etymology

Origin of Chandrasekhar limit

First recorded in 1975–80; named after U.S. astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar ( def. ), who formulated it

Example Sentences

Just short of the Chandrasekhar limit, at about 1.4 solar masses, the density and temperature of the core shoot up.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 4, 2020

At that threshold, known as the Chandrasekhar limit, theorists predict the pressure inside will cause electrons and protons to fuse into neutrons, and the white dwarf will quietly collapse into a neutron star.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 4, 2020

This type of supernova occurs when a white dwarf accretes enough material from a companion star to exceed the Chandrasekhar limit and then collapses and explodes.

From Textbooks • Oct. 13, 2016

If their combined mass is greater than the Chandrasekhar limit, the result could also be a type Ia supernova explosion.

From Textbooks • Oct. 13, 2016

Above this Chandrasekhar limit a star’s gravity will pull on itself so strongly that electrons can’t stop its collapse.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife