neutron star hypothesis

E255919

The neutron star hypothesis is Fritz Zwicky’s pioneering proposal that supernova explosions leave behind extremely dense stellar remnants composed primarily of neutrons, now known as neutron stars.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
neutron star hypothesis canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf astrophysical hypothesis
scientific hypothesis
assumes electrons and protons combine to form neutrons under extreme pressure
stellar core can collapse to nuclear densities
coreIdea supernova energy partly comes from gravitational binding energy released during collapse to a neutron star
describes remnant of certain massive stars after supernova
describesRemnant compact object with radius of about 10 kilometers
object with density comparable to nuclear density
object with mass comparable to the Sun
field astrophysics
stellar astrophysics
supernova theory
historicalSignificance early link between supernovae and compact stellar remnants
first theoretical proposal of neutron stars
influenced models of core-collapse supernovae
modern theory of neutron stars
research on dense nuclear matter
involvesConcept core-collapse of massive stars
equation of state of dense nuclear matter
gravitational binding energy
neutron degeneracy pressure
mainClaim supernova explosions leave behind extremely dense stellar remnants composed primarily of neutrons
motivatedBy need to explain enormous energy output of supernovae
observations of supernovae in the Andromeda Galaxy
predicts existence of neutron stars
proposedBy Fritz Zwicky
Walter Baade
publishedBy Fritz Zwicky and Walter Baade
publishedIn Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
relatedTo Chandrasekhar limit
Oppenheimer–Volkoff limit
black hole formation theories
pulsar model
relatesTo compact objects
core-collapse supernovae
degenerate matter
gravitational collapse
nuclear density matter
stellar evolution
supernova explosion mechanism
status largely confirmed
supportedBy X-ray observations of compact objects in binary systems
discovery of pulsars
measurements of neutron star masses and radii
radio observations of pulsars as rotating neutron stars
timeProposed 1933
early 1930s

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Fritz Zwicky notableWork neutron star hypothesis