Collapsar
Collapsar is the shortened form to describe a collapsed star. When a star no longer has enough fuel for significant fusion reactions there are three possible outcomes, depending on the star's mass. If the star’s mass is less than 1.4 solar masses, known as the Chandrasekhar limit, it will stabilize and shrink, becoming a white dwarf. Above the Chandrasekhar limit, but below the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff limit (approximately 3 solar masses), it will become a neutron star. Above the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff limit, it will become a black hole. However, it is theorized that the high density of neutron star cores allow for quark matter, and as a result, a star that is larger than even the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff limit, yet still not a black hole.
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Collapsar may also refer to the collapsar model for a hypernova.
See also
- List of collapsars