Degeneracy, the virial theorem, and stellar collapse

TL;DR

This paper discusses how energy formulae for degenerate Fermi gases, combined with the virial theorem, can effectively estimate key properties of stellar core collapse and the resulting neutron star, including temperature, mass, radius, and neutrino emission.

Contribution

It introduces simple, formula-based methods that accurately predict stellar core collapse parameters using fundamental physical principles.

Findings

Accurate estimates of core temperature, mass, and radius at collapse onset.

Predictions of final neutron star properties post-collapse.

Estimation of neutrino energy loss during stellar collapse.

Abstract

Formulae for the energies of degenerate non-relativistic and ultra-relativistic Fermi gases play multiple roles in simple arguments related to the collapse of a stellar core to a neutron star. These formulae, deployed in conjunction with the virial theorem and a few other basic physical principles, provide surprisingly good estimates of the temperature, mass, and radius (and therefore also density and entropy) of the core at the onset of collapse; the final radius and composition of the cold compact remnant; and the total energy lost to neutrino emission during collapse.