Key Concepts in Stellar Evolution and Compact Objects

Chandrasekhar limit

the upper limit to the mass of a white dwarf (equals 1.4 times the mass of the Sun)

degenerate gas

a gas that resists further compression because no two electrons can be in the same place at the same time doing the same thing (Pauli exclusion principle)

millisecond pulsar

a pulsar that rotates so quickly that it can give off hundreds of pulses per second (and its period is therefore measured in milliseconds)

neutron star

a compact object of extremely high density composed almost entirely of neutrons

nova

the cataclysmic explosion produced in a binary system, temporarily increasing its luminosity by hundreds to thousands of times

pulsar

a variable radio source of small physical size that emits very rapid radio pulses in very regular periods that range from fractions of a second to several seconds; now understood to be a rotating, magnetic neutron star that is energetic enough to produce a detectable beam of radiation and particles

type II supernova

a stellar explosion produced at the endpoint of the evolution of stars whose mass exceeds roughly 10 times the mass of the Sun