Astrophysicists generally assume that the compact
objects at the centers of galaxies are black holes. Why
couldn't these objects be massive neutron stars or some
other type of degenerate body? The reason is that under
general relativity and our current understanding of particle
physics, no stable degenerate object can exist with more than
about 5 solar masses. Gravity would need to deviate from
general relativity for million-solar-mass degenerate objects
to exist.
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