Avinash–Shukla mass limit for the maximum dust mass supported against gravity by electric fields

Abstract

The existence of a new class of astrophysical objects, where gravity is balanced by the shielded electric fields associated with the electric charge on the dust, is shown. Further, a mass limit M_A for the maximum dust mass that can be supported against gravitational collapse by these fields is obtained. If the total mass of the dust in the interstellar cloud M_D > M_A, the dust collapses, while if M_D < M_A, stable equilibrium may be achieved. Heuristic arguments are given to show that the physics of the mass limit is similar to the Chandrasekar's mass limit for compact objects and the similarity of these dust configurations with neutron and white dwarfs is pointed out. The effect of grain size distribution on the mass limit and strong correlation effects in the core of such objects is discussed. Possible location of these dust configurations inside interstellar clouds is pointed out.