The Upper Limit of Star Mass: Theories and Uncertainties | arXiv.org"

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In summary, the article discusses how it is not certain why stars are limited to a range of masses between 200-300 solar masses, but one idea is that when a star is forming it needs to be limited to a lower mass or it may cause trouble. Another reason is that stars' lifetimes are short, so you have to be quick to catch one before it goes supernova.
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I was reading about the greatest mass that stars can have

http://arxiv.org/astro-ph/0501135 [Broken]

it is not 100 percent sure but 200 solar masses looks like an upper bound on the mass
it is also not certain why.

if there is some upper limit, say between 130 and 200 solar mass,
then WHY?

why should stars be confined between this range, whatever it is (say 0.1 solar up to 150 solar).

one idea is that when a star is forming if it gets too big it makes so much light that the light drives away the cloud of material around the star that it is feeding on. I don't know if that is a current theory or not. maybe someone has read up on this
 
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The central star in the Pistol Nebula is estimated to have a radius of about 93M miles (as big as Earth's orbit) and a total energy output 10M times that of the Sun. In this link, it is proposed that the star may have had an initial mass of nearly 250 times that of the Sun, but has been shedding material at a prodigious rate all its life.

http://www.solstation.com/x-objects/pistol.htm


It may be that (in suitable gas-rich regions of space) several hundred solar masses of material can agglomerate before the nuclear furnace at the core ignites and the new star starts driving away other neighboring material. In this model, the rapidity with which the material gathers would be an important constraint on initial mass. If the formative mass gathered very slowly, the star could ignite and form a strong stellar wind before it could get very massive.
 
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I think the photon pressure is also important once the star has formed, in that it unsettles the hydrostatic equilbrium, this pressure is also sensitive to the optical depth, at depth in the star, and that is sensitive to the metallicity. Population III stars, the primordial giants that are supposed to have re-ionised the early IGM, would not have had as much/any metallicity(freely coasting or standard LCDM cosmology respectively) and therefore they may have been even larger.

The other reason such large stars are not observed is that their lifetimes are so short, you have to be quick to catch one before it goes supernova!

Garth
 
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thanks to both, for the informative posts!
 

1. What is the upper limit of star mass?

The upper limit of star mass is the maximum mass that a star can have before it collapses under its own gravity and becomes a black hole. This limit is currently estimated to be around 150-200 times the mass of the Sun.

2. How is the upper limit of star mass calculated?

The upper limit of star mass is calculated based on various theoretical models and observations of massive stars. These models take into account factors such as nuclear fusion, stellar evolution, and the effects of radiation pressure and gravity on a star's structure.

3. Why is there uncertainty surrounding the upper limit of star mass?

There is uncertainty surrounding the upper limit of star mass because it is a complex topic that is still being studied and researched by scientists. Different theories and models may give different estimates, and there is also a lack of observational data for extremely massive stars.

4. Can stars with masses above the upper limit exist?

According to current theories, stars with masses above the upper limit cannot exist as they would inevitably collapse into black holes. However, there have been some controversial claims of the existence of stars with masses exceeding this limit, which are still being studied and debated by scientists.

5. How does the upper limit of star mass affect our understanding of the universe?

The upper limit of star mass is an important factor in understanding the evolution and fate of massive stars, which play a crucial role in the formation of galaxies and the enrichment of the universe with heavy elements. It also helps us to better understand the processes of black hole formation and the potential dangers posed by these extreme objects.

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