Neutron Star to Black Hole Via OMG?

[Islam Hassan]

If a super-duper-hyper-energetic particle like the OMG particle (refer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oh-My-God_particle) were to impact the surface of a neutron star, could the tremendous impact density it creates lead to the beginnings of an embryonic black hole that would (slowly/quickly?) swallow the neutron star?

IH

 

[mathman]

In order for a neutron star to turn into a black hole it needs to add sufficient mass. It is highly unlikely one high energy proton would do the job.

 

[Islam Hassan]

In order for a neutron star to turn into a black hole it needs to add sufficient mass. It is highly unlikely one high energy proton would do the job.

Sufficient mass within a sufficiently small volume, ie sufficient density too, no? In that case, would the local peak density created by the particle impact be sufficient to initiate a mini-black hole and the "gobbling" up of adjacent (and very high-density) matter of the neutron star by such mini-BH? In that case, the embyonic BH may graduate to higher status via gobbling up of more and more neutron star matter.

IH

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

In order for a neutron star to turn into a black hole it needs to add sufficient mass. It is highly unlikely one high energy proton would do the job.

What if the neutron star is one neutron short of a black hole?

 

[qraal]

What if the neutron star is one neutron short of a black hole?

Unusual, but not ridiculously absurd. However what's the point? What exactly are you trying to ask?

However you have stumbled upon an important astrophysical constraint on the spatial density of heavy particles, by looking at the implications of their capture by degenerate objects. Both white-dwarfs and neutron stars have been studied carefully in this fashion to see what they tell us about Dark Matter and other cosmic exotica. If too much Dark Matter was captured, then more white-dwarfs would supernova and more neutron stars would become black holes.

 

[twofish-quant]

Sufficient mass within a sufficiently small volume, ie sufficient density too, no?

No. You need sufficient total mass. Energy density won't make a difference.

I suppose you could have a neutron star that is right at the tipping point, at which point you could sneeze and it turns into a black hole, but that seems unlikely since you have stuff falling into neutron stars constantly.

In that case, would the local peak density created by the particle impact be sufficient to initiate a mini-black hole and the "gobbling" up of adjacent (and very high-density) matter of the neutron star by such mini-BH?

No. That's a misconception. Black holes don't gobble things up. Things fall into black holes, but things fall onto the earth.

 

[Drakkith]

No. You need sufficient total mass. Energy density won't make a difference.

I thought you could compress something far enough to cause it to turn into a black hole?

 

[zhermes]

No. You need sufficient total mass. Energy density won't make a difference.

That is not accurate. A Black-hole results anytime the rest-mass is confined to a region smaller than the Schwartzschild radius for that mass. If there are other important factors (e.g. charge, spin), then there are analogous results---its always a question of density.
Clearly there is more than a black-hole's worth of mass in the galaxy... yet its not a black-hole, because its low density.

 

[Drakkith]

Twofish, were you saying that if the impact location was already so close to forming a black hole that the impact would cause it to collapse, then there would be way too much mass overall in the star for it to not be a black hole already?