Describe how the remnants of stellar evolution black holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs, supernova

remnants and planetary nebulae are created.

Explain the best methods of detecting them by discussing one example for each class of object.

When a star approaches the end of its life, there are many possible paths that the star can take. The
road that is taken down this tree of possibilities is dependent on the physical properties of the star
during its main sequence life. The main variable responsible for the fate of a star is its mass during its
main sequence.
Put simply, when a star dies it can become a black hole, neutron star, white dwarf or lead to the
creation of supernova remnants or a planetary nebulae. But to understand how these stellar
phenomena are formed, we must first understand and classify the various types of main sequence
stars, as the differences between them will determine their final fate.
When a star enters the main sequence phase, it is classified as one of seven spectral types. These
spectral types, in order of most to least massive, are known as O, B, A, F, G, K, M. The table below
describes the differences more specifically.
Spectral Type O B A F G K M
Mass (xSun) 20+ 10 2 1.5 1 0.7 0.2
Surface Temperature (K) 40,000 20,000 8500 6500 5700 4500 3200
Luminosity (xSun) 100,000 1000 20 4 1 0.2 0.01
Radius (xSun) 10 5 1.7 1.3 1 0.8 0.3


Type O stars are the most massive, with the very lightest of them being around 20 times the mass of
our sun. Coincidentally, this is about the minimum mass required for a main sequence star to be able
to form a black hole upon its death. When a type O star runs out of fuel to sustain nuclear fusion, it
will explode in a gigantic explosion, known as a supernova. This explosion is so powerful that the
core of the star will rapidly collapse inward, with forces present so strong that they are able to
An artists impression of what each type of star may look like based on observed data.
overcome the strong nuclear force, and so the core is so dense that light itself cannot escape the
gravitational pull. The result of this is all matter is pressed into a single point, a singularity. The
resulting phenomenon is known as a black hole. We have named them black holes because they are
black voids that we cannot directly see, due to the fact light cannot escape them.
Neutron stars are another possibility for what a star will become once its life ends. Neutron stars are
super dense spheres comprised entirely of neutrons, hence the name. Neutron stars generally form
from when a type B star explodes in a supernova. The reason for their formation is the same as a
black hole, where the core of a star rapidly collapses inwards, however there is not quite enough
mass present for a black hole to form. Therefore the resulting object is an object with enough mass
and gravitational force to be extremely dense and overcome forces causing it to compress its matter
down into neutrons, but it is still not massive enough to form a singularity. Neutrons stars are
generally quite small, with a radius of only about 5 kilometres; however they typically weigh about
1.5 to 3 solar masses. Interestingly, some neutron stars rotate extremely rapidly, and emit large
amounts of electromagnetic radiation, such as X-rays or radio waves. The effect of observing this is
you will see a rapid pulse of energy, hence why we name these neutron stars pulsars.
When a comparatively less massive star such as a type A, F, G, K or M comes to the end of its life, it
doesnt explode as a supernova like type O or B stars. Instead after secondary phases (such as the
red giant phase) have ended, the core of the star remains. The remaining core is very dense, about
200,000 times as dense as Earth, however still not as dense as a neutron star or black hole. The core
is still quite hot; however nuclear reactions are no longer able to take place. The result is a white hot
core which remains suspended in space, radiating heat out into the universe and slowly cooling. This
is known as a white dwarf. White dwarfs are far more common than black holes or neutron stars,
due to the fact that most stars in the universe seem to be small cool stars, around type G, K and M.
An interesting fact about white dwarves is that their size is determined by their mass, but not how
you would think. The more mass a white dwarf has, the smaller it will be, however this is only true to
a point. At around 1.4 solar masses, a white dwarf becomes too massive to become a white dwarf,
and will compress into a neutron star, or possibly a black hole, depending on the new mass of the
object. It is worth noting, there may be a final fate beyond white dwarves. Since a white dwarf is
simply cooling and radiating heat away from it, it will eventually become very cold, and become an
object known as a black dwarf. However models predict that the time needed to cool sufficiently to
form a black dwarf is far longer than the age of the universe, so we would not expect any to exist
currently.
When a type O or B star dies, it explodes in a supernova. We have already discussed how this leads
to a black hole or neutron star forming out of the core of the star, but thats not all that happens.
The material ejected from the star during the supernova may also go on to form a structure. We call
these structures Supernova Remnants. Supernova remnants are basically nebula, large clouds of
matter and elements that were part of the former star. When supernova remnants are ejected from
an exploding star, matter moves out away from the star in every direction, like a large bubble
expanding. Supernova remnants may expand at very fast rates, sometimes up to 10% the speed of
light. As supernova remnants move through space, they distribute heavier elements through the
universe, heat up rogue matter floating in space, and also accelerate cosmic rays that move through
space.