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Tolman-oppenheimer-volkoff Limit




The Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff limit is an upper bound to the mass of stars composed of Neutron-degenerate Matter ( Neutron Star s), analogous to the Chandrasekhar Limit , which provides an upper bound to the mass of stars composed of Electron-degenerate Matter ( White Dwarf stars). This limit is estimated to be approximately 3 to 5 Solar Masses ; the uncertainty in the value reflects the fact that the Equations Of State for neutron-degenerate matter aren't known with high accuracy, as closed-form solutions don't exist, and numerical simulation is difficult. Above the TOV limit, an object either collapses to form a Black Hole , or changes composition and is supported by some other form of degeneracy pressure (for example, quark degeneracy if it becomes a Quark Star ). However, the properties of these more exotic forms of degenerate matter are even more poorly known than those of neutron-degenerate matter, making the fate of stars this massive uncertain.