Can Strong Magnetic Fields Push White Dwarfs Beyond the Chandrasekhar Limit?

[Chronos]

This paper, New mass limit for white dwarfs: super-Chandrasekhar type Ia supernova as a new standard candle, http://arxiv.org/abs/1301.5965, discusses the possibility of white dwarfs achieving super-Chandrasekhar masses due to strong magnetic fields. It is proposed as a candidate explanation for peculiar type Ia supernova. It implies type Ia supernova as standard candles may be of questionable reliability at high redshift, where spectroscopic distinction between normal and peculiar type Ia supernova is less easily achieved.

 

[Drakkith]

That's pretty cool.

 

[phinds]

Very interesting. Thanks for posting. Be interesting to see what more comes from this.

 

[Mordred]

Good article thanks for posting it