White dwarfs and neutron stars
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Contents

  • Introduction
  • Learning outcomes
  • 1 The life cycle of stars
  • 2 Planetary nebulae
  • 3 Degeneracy
    • 3.1 The de Broglie wavelength of electrons and nucleons
    • 3.2 Conditions for degeneracy
    • 3.3 Fermions
    • 3.4 The pressure of a non-relativistic degenerate gas
    • 3.5 The pressure of an ultra-relativistic degenerate gas
  • 4 White dwarfs
    • 4.1 The electron density
    • 4.2 The Chandrasekhar limit
    • 4.3 The white dwarf mass-radius relationship
    • 4.4 White dwarf composition and cooling
  • 5 Supernovae
    • 5.1 Nuclear photodisintegration
    • 5.2 Electron capture
    • 5.3 Supernovae explosions
  • 6 Neutron stars
    • 6.1 Neutron star composition
    • 6.2 The radius and mass of neutron stars
  • 7 Black holes
  • 8 Quiz
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Glossary

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