Science & Tech · Space · 2 hrs ago
Strong magnetic fields may let white dwarfs exceed the usual mass limit
A white dwarf is the dense core left after a star runs out of fuel and sheds its outer layers.
For white dwarfs without strong rotation or magnetic fields, the accepted upper mass limit is about 1.4 times the Sun’s mass.
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science and their collaborators used computer simulations to study how magnetic fields affect a star’s evolution into a white dwarf.
In one simulation, a magnetised carbon-oxygen white dwarf reached about 2.4 times the Sun’s mass.
The model suggests that as the white dwarf gains matter from a companion star, it contracts and its magnetic field strengthens.
That field can provide extra pressure to help the star withstand gravity and hold more mass.
The findings offer a possible way to explain unusually bright Type Ia supernovae, which have been linked to white dwarfs more massive than the usual limit.
Simulations by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science and collaborators suggest strong internal magnetic fields could allow some white dwarfs to exceed the Chandrasekhar mass limit.
In one simulation, a magnetised carbon-oxygen white dwarf reached about 2.4 times the mass of the Sun, compared with the usual limit of about 1.4 solar masses.
The researchers modelled how a star could evolve into a white dwarf and gain matter from a companion star.
As the white dwarf gains mass, it contracts and its magnetic field strengthens, providing pressure that can help support more mass.
The study was published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
- Who
- Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science and their collaborators.
- What
- Simulations suggest strong internal magnetic fields could allow some white dwarfs to exceed the usual Chandrasekhar mass limit.
- When
- The study was published on October 9, 2026.
- Where
- The research was conducted by the Indian Institute of Science and collaborators; the study appeared in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
- Why
- Strong magnetic fields can provide additional pressure inside a white dwarf, helping it withstand gravity and support more mass.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Banibrata Mukhopadhyay said the research idea began when he gave a summer student the problem of checking whether a magnetic field could violate the Chandrasekhar limit.
The study was published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
- Usual mass limit
- About 1.4 times the mass of the Sun
- Simulated white dwarf
- About 2.4 times the mass of the Sun
- Study institution
- Indian Institute of Science
- Publication
- The Astrophysical Journal Letters
What people are saying
The important question was not simply whether a super-Chandrasekhar white dwarf is possible, but whether a star can actually evolve into one.
The idea started in 2011, when a summer student came to me and I gave him a problem quite casually: to check whether the Chandrasekhar limit can be violated by a magnetic field.
Sources
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