Head-on collision of neutron stars as a thought experiment

The head-on collision of identical neutron stars from rest at infinity requires a numerical simulation in full general relativity for a complete solution. Undaunted, we provide a relativistic, analytic argument to suggest that during the collision, sufficient thermal pressure is always generated to support the hot remnant in quasistatic stable equilibrium against collapse prior to slow cooling via neutrino emission. Our conclusion is independent of the total mass of the progenitors and holds even if the remnant greatly exceeds the maximum mass of a cold neutron star. [S0556-2821(98)10120-0].