Degenerate star

A degenerate star is type of star which is composed of degenerate matter. It is the generic name of three types of stars,

Related Topics:
Star - Degenerate matter

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degenerate dwarf (commonly called white dwarf), neutron star and quark star. The first two have been conclusively observed to exist in nature, while the latter may be represented in RXJ1856 and 3C58, though observations are inconclusive.

Related Topics:
Degenerate dwarf - White dwarf - Neutron star - Quark star - RXJ1856 - 3C58

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In general in a star the gravitational pull of matter tends to squeeze the star to smaller size, but most stars are in a state of static equilibrium (where gravity is exactly counterbalanced by other forces) and they remain a constant size.

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In general, in main sequence stars (our Sun is a main sequence star), gravitational pressure is counterbalanced by the thermal motion of the star's atoms.

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