COMPACT OBJECTS

WHITE DWARFS, NEUTRON STARS AND BLACK HOLES

Monday, November 14, 2022

LIFE OF A HIGH MASS STAR

HYDROGEN
High Mass Star: Mstar > 6 M⊙
BLACK HOLE (BH)

• Progenitor mass of the star

→ Mstar > 10 M⊙

• Remnant mass of the star

→ Mbh > 5M⊙

• A black hole is born

BLACK HOLE (BH)

• Progenitor mass of the star

→ Mstar > 10 M⊙

• Remnant mass of the star

→ Mbh > 5M⊙

• A black hole is born

BLACK HOLE (BH)
• Explained from Einstein’s General Theory
of Relativity → Modern view of gravity

• Cannot be explained by Newton’s law

• Every object with mass will exhibit gravity

• More the mass more will be gravity

• More the mass more bend the spacetime

BLACK HOLE (BH)
• Black Hole is region of spacetime
where gravity is so strong that even
light cannot escape from inside it
BLACK HOLE (BH)
• Black Hole is region of spacetime
where gravity is so strong that even
light cannot escape from inside it

• Black Hole was first coined by John Wheeler in 1967

BLACK HOLE (BH)
• Black Hole is region of spacetime
where gravity is so strong that even
light cannot escape from inside it
Photon sphere

• Black Hole was first coined by John Wheeler in 1967

• Photon sphere: Light orbits the black hole

BLACK HOLE (BH)
• Black Hole is region of spacetime
where gravity is so strong that even
light cannot escape from inside it
Photon sphere

• Black: They neither emit or reflect light

• Hole: Nothing can escape

STABILITY OF BLACK HOLE (BH)

• Stability of a star

→ Gravity = Pressure

• Stability of a WD

→ Gravity = Electron Degeneracy Pressure

• Stability of a NS

→ Gravity = Neutron Degeneracy Pressure

STABILITY OF BLACK HOLE (BH)

• Stability of a Black Hole

→ Gravity eventually wins over pressure

→ Gravity is very strong, absorbs everything even light

→ If you want to escape a BH, you will have to travel faster than
speed of light
BLACK HOLE

• Progenitor mass → Mstar > 10 M⊙

• Gravitational collapse of a massive star

• Remnant mass → Mbh > 5 M⊙

• Mass is greater than WD and NS

Artist Impression (Courtesy of Chandra X-Ray Observatory, NASA)
BLACK HOLE
• BH are black and hence cannot be seen

• So how do we detect them?

• Indirectly → Look for effects of gravity on

its surrounding

• Look for stars orbiting around an unseen

Artist Impression (Courtesy of Chandra X-Ray Observatory, NASA)
massive object
BLACK HOLE
• BH are black and hence cannot be seen

• So how do we detect them?

• Indirectly → Look for effects of gravity on

its surrounding

• Look for stars orbiting around an unseen

Artist Impression (Courtesy of Chandra X-Ray Observatory, NASA)
massive object
BLACK HOLE
• BH are black and hence cannot be seen
14.8 M⨀
• So how do we detect them?

• Accretion on the black hole releases x-ray

• Mass of a BH can be determined

Artist Impression (Courtesy of Chandra X-Ray Observatory, NASA)

BLACK HOLE
 TYPES OF BLACK HOLE

Black Hole

Stellar Mass Black Hole Intermediate Mass Supermassive Black

SBH Black Hole IMBH Hole SMBH

Supernova explosion of No direct detection has Center of all massive

massive stars been observed active galaxies
5M⊙ < M < 100M⨀ 100 < M < 106 M⨀ M > 106 M⨀
 TYPES OF BLACK HOLE

Black Hole

Stellar Mass Black Hole Intermediate Mass Supermassive Black

SBH Black Hole IMBH Hole SMBH

Supernova explosion of No direct detection has Center of all massive

massive stars been observed active galaxies
5M⊙ < M < 100M⨀ 100 < M < 106 M⨀ M > 106 M⨀
 TYPES OF BLACK HOLE

Black Hole

Stellar Mass Black Hole Intermediate Mass Supermassive Black

SBH Black Hole IMBH Hole SMBH

Supernova explosion of No direct detection has Center of all massive

massive stars been observed active galaxies
5M⊙ < M < 100M⨀ 100 < M < 106 M⨀ M > 106 M⨀
BLACK HOLE

• Singularity – Center of a BH with infinite

mass and infinitesimally small

Cannot be seen from the outside

“The point where all the laws of physics

Source: Northern Arizona University:

breaks down” – Kip Thorne

BLACK HOLE

• Event horizon – Boundary beyond which no

escape is possible

→ Point of no return, Radius of BH

2GM
→ Schwarzchild radius rs =
c2

→ rs depends on the mass of the object (M)

BLACK HOLE

2GM
• Schwarzchild radius rs =
c2

→ rs is the radius of the black hole in meters

→ G = 6.67 ∗ 10−11 Nm2 /kg 2

→ M is mass of the object in kg

→ c speed of light = 3 ∗ 108 m/s

BLACK HOLE

• Photon Sphere radius rps

Region around the black hole where light

travels in an orbit
rps = 1.5 rS
MASS LIMIT OF COMPACT OBJECTS

Compact objects Progenitor mass Remnant mass

White dwarf 0.5 < Mstar < 6M⊙ Mwd < 1.44M⊙

Neutron stars 6M⊙ < Mstar < 10M⊙ Mns ≤ 2.16M⊙

Black holes Mstar > 10M⊙ Mbh > 5M⊙

 2GM
MASS LIMIT OF COMPACT OBJECTS rS = 2
c

Compact objects Mass Schwarzchild Radius (rS )

Earth 6 ∗ 1024 kg 0.0088 m

Sun 1M⊙ ≈ 3 km

White dwarf 1.44M⊙ ≈ 4 km

Neutron stars 2.16M⊙ ≈ 6 km

SBH 5M⊙ ≈ 15 km

SMBH 109 M⊙ ≈ 3 ∗ 109 km

 2GM
MASS LIMIT OF COMPACT OBJECTS rS = 2
c

Compact objects Mass Schwarzchild Radius (rS )

Earth 6 ∗ 1024 kg 0.0088 m

Sun 1M⊙ ≈ 3 km

White dwarf 1.44M⊙ ≈ 4 km

Neutron stars 2.16M⊙ ≈ 6 km

SBH 5M⊙ ≈ 15 km

SMBH 109 M⊙ ≈ 3 ∗ 109 km

 2GM
MASS LIMIT OF COMPACT OBJECTS rS = 2
c

Compact objects Mass Schwarzchild Radius (rS )

Sgr A* 4 ∗ 106 M⊙ ≈ 12 ∗ 106 km

M87* 7 ∗ 109 M⊙ ≈ 20 ∗ 109 km

Credit:EHT Collaboration
 2GM
MASS LIMIT OF COMPACT OBJECTS rS = 2
c

Compact objects Mass Schwarzchild Radius (rS )

Sgr A* 4 ∗ 106 M⊙ ≈ 12 ∗ 106 km

M87* 7 ∗ 109 M⊙ ≈ 20 ∗ 109 km

Credit:EHT Collaboration
 2GM
MASS LIMIT OF COMPACT OBJECTS rS = 2
c

Compact objects Mass Schwarzchild Radius (rS )

Sgr A* 4 ∗ 106 M⊙ ≈ 12 ∗ 106 km

M87* 7 ∗ 109 M⊙ ≈ 20 ∗ 109 km

Credit:EHT Collaboration
BLACK HOLE
• Nearest Black Hole → GAIA BH1 → 1600 ly

International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / J. da Silva / Spaceengine / M. Zamani

WHITE DWARF

• Temperature of around 60000 K

• Mass comparable to the sun

• Size comparable to the earth

• No nuclear fusion at the core

• As it cools white dwarf → Yellow Dwarf → Black Dwarf

NEUTRON STAR

• Temperature of around 106 K

• Mass comparable to twice the mass of

the sun

• Size comparable to a city

• No nuclear fusion at the core

BLACK HOLE

• Mbh > 5M⨀ → Black Hole

• Schwarzschild radius → depends on the mass

• It is a product of Einstein’s theory of General

Relativity

• Schwarzschild radius depends only on the

mass of the object
OBSERVED MASS RANGES OF COMPACT OBJECTS

https://www.nasa.gov/jpl/nustar/pia18842
LUMINOSITY, MAGNITUDE
AND
STELLAR CLASSIFICATION