Chandrasekhar limit
A slow-rotating white dwarf star can not exceed the Chandrasekhar limit of 1.44 solar masses without collapsing to form a neutron star or exploding as a Type Ia supernova. Once the white dwarf reaches this mass, such as by accretion or collision, the gravitational force would exceed the pressure exerted by the electrons. If the white dwarf is rotating rapidly, however, the effective gravity is diminished in the equatorial region, thus allowing the white dwarf to exceed the Chandrasekhar limit. Such rapid rotation can occur, for example, as a result of mass accretion that results in a transfer of angular momentum.