Mass–radius relation of strongly magnetized white dwarfs: nearly independent of Landau quantization

Abstract

We compute static equilibria of white dwarf stars containing strong poloidal magnetic field, and present the modification of white dwarf mass–radius relation caused by the magnetic field. We find that a maximum white dwarf mass of about 1.9 M⊙ may be supported if the interior field is as strong as approximately 1010 T. This mass is over 30 per cent larger than the traditional Chandrasekhar Limit. The equation of state of electron degenerate matter can be strongly modified due to Landau quantization at such high magnetic fields. We find, however, that this does not significantly affect the structure of the white dwarf.