What limit dictates whether a supernova remnant becomes a Neutron star or collapses into a Black hole?
Answer
The Chandrasekhar limit
The fate of the core following a massive star's supernova explosion is determined by whether its mass exceeds the Chandrasekhar limit, which is approximately $1.4 M_{\odot}$ for electron degeneracy failure. If the resulting remnant core is below this critical mass, the powerful neutron degeneracy pressure is sufficient to halt the collapse, resulting in an ultra-dense neutron star. However, if the core mass surpasses this limit, gravity overwhelms even neutron degeneracy pressure, leading to unstoppable collapse past any known physical resistance, resulting in the formation of a black hole whose gravity is so intense that nothing, not even light, can escape its event horizon.
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