For the categorical notion in mathematics, see Compact object (mathematics).
Not to be confused with dwarf star or central compact object.
In astronomy, the term compact object (or compact star) refers collectively to white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. It could also include exotic stars if such hypothetical, dense bodies are confirmed to exist. All compact objects have a high mass relative to their radius, giving them a very high density, compared to ordinary atomic matter.
Compact objects are often the endpoints of stellar evolution and, in this respect, are also called stellar remnants. The state and type of a stellar remnant depends primarily on the mass of the star that it formed from. The ambiguous term compact object is often used when the exact nature of the star is not known, but evidence suggests that it has a very small radius compared to ordinary stars. A compact object that is not a black hole may be called a degenerate star.
In June 2020, astronomers reported narrowing down the source of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), which may now plausibly include "compact-object mergers and magnetars arising from normal core collapse supernovae".[1][2]
^Starr, Michelle (1 June 2020). "Astronomers Just Narrowed Down The Source of Those Powerful Radio Signals From Space". ScienceAlert.com. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
^Bhandan, Shivani (1 June 2020). "The Host Galaxies and Progenitors of Fast Radio Bursts Localized with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 895 (2): L37. arXiv:2005.13160. Bibcode:2020ApJ...895L..37B. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ab672e. S2CID 218900539.
In astronomy, the term compactobject (or compact star) refers collectively to white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. It could also include exotic...
Bell Burnell in 1967 sparked interest in gravitationally collapsed compactobjects as a possible astrophysical reality. The first black hole known was...
A central compactobject (CCO) is an x-ray source found near the center of a young, nearby supernova remnant (SNR). Given the observed x-ray flux and spectra...
(TV series), a 1960s British soap opera Compact star, also called a compactobject, a degenerate star like a neutron star Campact, a German nongovernmental...
An astronomical object, celestial object, stellar object or heavenly body is a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists...
A MAssive Compact Halo Object (MACHO) is a kind of astronomical body that might explain the apparent presence of dark matter in galaxy halos. A MACHO...
contains a compactobject such as a white dwarf, neutron star or black hole, gas from the other (donor) star can accrete onto the compactobject. This releases...
from the supernova explosion are then ionized by the energy and the compactobject that its core produces. One of the best examples of this is the Crab...
compactobjects in question appear to have no solid surface, which can be deduced from the examination of X-ray bursts for which the central compact object...
these continue to evolve, with many companions eventually becoming compactobjects such as white dwarfs or neutron stars themselves, though other possibilities...
jets of plasma that originate from a central compactobject that is accreting matter. Accreting compactobjects and relativistic jets are invoked to explain...
envelope can lead to the formation of a binary system composed of a compactobject with a close companion. Cataclysmic variables, X-ray binaries and systems...
back towards the compactobject. The main expected sources of continuous gravitational waves are neutron stars, very compactobjects resulting from the...
with one red giant, which probably is a Mira variable, and one a hot compactobject (usually a white dwarf), with markedly contrasting spectra and whose...
expansion at different distances." The inspiral and merging of two compactobjects are a strong source of gravitational waves (GW). The basic model for...
The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings...
long-standing puzzle surrounding type II supernovae is why the remaining compactobject receives a large velocity away from the epicentre; pulsars, and thus...
the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of a supermassive compactobject at the centre of our galaxy", which he shared with Andrea Ghez and Roger...
proposed that gravity can be strong enough in the vicinity of massive compactobjects that even light cannot escape. At that time, the Newtonian theory of...
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