Electron Degeneracy Pressure

The force that supports white dwarfRemnant of a star with mass <8 Msun. White dwarfs have masses <1.4 Msun (the Chandrasekhar mass) and are supported by electron degeneracy pressure. White dwarfs have radii ~Rearth (<0.02 Rsun) and densities ~105-6 g/cm3. No nuclear fusion or gravitational contraction occurs in white dwarfs, they shine by residual heat. stars against gravityAttractive force between all matter - one of the four fundamental forces.. Quantum mechanics restricts the number of electrons that can have low energy. When electrons are packed together, the number of available low energy states is too small and many electrons are forced into high energy states. When this happens the electrons are said to be degenerate and make a significant contribution to pressure. This electron degeneracy pressure arises from quantum mechanical effects and is insensitive to temperature, i.e., the pressure doesn’t go down as the starSelf-luminous object held together by its own self-gravity. Often refers to those objects which generate energy from nuclear reactions occurring at their cores, but may also be applied to stellar remnants such as neutron stars. cools.