The Schönberg–Chandrasekhar limit in presence of small anisotropy and modified gravity

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Schönberg–Chandrasekhar limit in post-main-sequence evolution for stars of masses in the range 1.4 ≲ M/M⊙ ≲ 6 gives the maximum pressure that the stellar core can withstand, once the central hydrogen is exhausted. It is usually expressed as a quadratic function of 1/α, with α being the ratio of the mean molecular weight of the core to that of the envelope. Here, we revisit this limit in scenarios where the pressure balance equation in the stellar interior may be modified, and in the presence of small stellar pressure anisotropy, that might arise due to several physical phenomena. Using numerical analysis, we derive a three parameter-dependent master formula for the limit, and discuss various physical consequences. As a by-product, in a limiting case of our formula, we find that in the standard Newtonian framework, the Schönberg–Chandrasekhar limit is best-fit by a polynomial that is linear, rather than quadratic, to lowest order in 1/α.