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Chapter 11: Neutron Stars and Black Holes
What happens to the collapsing core?
•Neutron star
–Quantum rules also resist neutron packing
•Densities much higher than white dwarfs allowed
–R ~ 5 km      r ~ 1014 gm/cm3   (similar to nucleus)
•M limit uncertain,  ~2 or ~3 MSun before it collapses
•
–Spins very fast (by conservation of angular momentum)
–
–Trapped spinning magnetic field makes it:
•Act like a “lighthouse” beaming out E-M radiation (radio, light)
–pulsars
•Accelerates nearby charged particles