The Chandrasekhar mass limit sets the scale for the late evolutionary stages of massive stars,including the formation of neutron stars in core collapse supernovae
Because its value depends onthe gravitational constant G, the masses of these neutron stars retain a record of past values of G
The five transiting companions analyzed here have masses around the hydrogen-burning mass limit, the upper boundary of brown dwarfs and lower boundary of main sequence stars, which is generally adopted as 80 MJup (e
,g, Marcy & Butler 2000; Grether & Lineweaver 2006 )
Value in astrophysics
The Hayashi limit is a theoretical constraint upon the maximum radius of a star for a given mass.When a star is fully within hydrostatic equilibrium—a condition where the inward force of gravity is matched by the outward pressure of the gas—the star can not exceed the radius defined by the Hayashi limit.This has important implications for the evolution of a star
Both during the formulative contraction period and later when the star has consumed most of its hydrogen supply through nuclear fusion.
