What mass limit for white dwarfs is named after Nobel laureate Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar?

The Chandrasekhar limit is the mass limit for a stable, nonrotating white dwarf supported by electron degeneracy pressure.

Its value is approximately 1.4 times the mass of the Sun, although the exact theoretical value depends on composition and physical assumptions. Above this limit, electron degeneracy pressure cannot support the star against gravitational collapse.

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar calculated the result in 1930 when he was a young researcher. His work initially faced strong criticism from Arthur Eddington, but the limit later became central to stellar evolution theory.

A white dwarf below the limit can remain stable as a compact stellar remnant. If a white dwarf gains enough mass from a companion or merges with another white dwarf, it may undergo collapse or a thermonuclear explosion. Chandrasekhar shared the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics for theoretical studies of the structure and evolution of stars.