What condition leads to the formation of a black hole instead of a neutron star?
The remnant core mass exceeds the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff limit.
The fate of the collapsing core hinges entirely on how much mass remains after the initial implosion and the ensuing neutrino burst. If the remnant core mass is substantial enough to surpass the maximum mass that neutron degeneracy pressure can counteract—a theoretical boundary known as the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff (TOV) limit—then gravity achieves absolute victory. When the remnant exceeds this critical threshold, no known internal force, including neutron degeneracy, can withstand the gravitational pull. The collapse continues unabated, squeezing the matter into an infinitely small volume, resulting in the formation of a singularity encased by an event horizon, which defines a black hole.
