A carbon-oxygen white dwarf of mass is well described by the non-relativistic (…

PHYSICS · Subjective · Fermi University Physics · Thermal, Statistical & Complex Systems · Astrophysics & Cosmology · Stellar death and compact objects

Stars from the Inside, Ch White dwarfs: the relativistic polytrope, the Chandrasekhar mass and a cooling clock

Problem

A carbon-oxygen white dwarf of mass M=0.8 M⊙M = 0.8\,M_\odot is well described by the non-relativistic (n=3/2n=3/2 polytrope) mass-radius relation R≈1.05×104 km(M0.6 M⊙)−1/3(μe2)−5/3.R \approx 1.05\times10^{4}\,\mathrm{km}\left(\frac{M}{0.6\,M_\odot}\right)^{-1/3}\left(\frac{\mu_e}{2}\right)^{-5/3}. Fully ionised carbon-oxygen material has μe=2\mu_e = 2. Find RR.

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