White dwarf stars in D dimensions

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dc.creatorChavanis, P. H.
dc.date2006-04-02
dc.date2008-11-06
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T11:03:59Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T11:03:59Z
dc.descriptionWe determine the mass-radius relation of relativistic white dwarf stars (a self-gravitating degenerate Fermi gas at T=0) in a D-dimensional universe and study the influence of the dimension of space on the laws of physics when we combine quantum mechanics, special relativity and gravity. We exhibit characteristic dimensions D=1, D=2, D=3, D={1\over 2}(3+\sqrt{17}), D=4, D=2(1+\sqrt{2}) and show that quantum mechanics cannot balance gravitational collapse for D\ge 4, even in the non-relativistic regime. This is similar to a result found by Ehrenfest (1917) at the atomic level for Coulomb forces (in Bohr's model) and for the Kepler problem. This makes the dimension of our universe D=3 very particular. We discuss some historic aspects concerning the discovery of the Chandrasekhar (1931b) limiting mass in relation with previous investigations by Anderson (1929) and Stoner (1930). We also show the analogy between the Chandrasekhar limiting mass of white dwarf stars and the critical mass of biological populations in the two-dimensional chemotactic problem.
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0604012
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0604012
dc.identifierPhys.Rev.D76:023004,2007
dc.identifierdoi:10.1103/PhysRevD.76.023004
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/188738
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleWhite dwarf stars in D dimensions
dc.typetext

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