What is the final stage of a very massive star's life cycle?

In the life cycle of a very massive star, the final stage is the formation of a black hole. Very massive stars end their lives in a dramatic fashion known as a supernova explosion. When these stars exhaust their nuclear fuel, they can no longer support themselves against gravitational collapse. As the core collapses under its own gravity, if the mass is sufficient, it compresses to the point where a black hole forms.

This occurs after the star has gone through various stages, including becoming a red giant, where it expands significantly, and possibly forming a neutron star if its mass is on the lower end of the "very massive" scale. However, for the most massive stars, the gravitational forces surpass the neutron degeneracy pressure (which supports neutron stars), leading to the creation of a black hole as the ultimate endpoint of their evolution. This process results in a region of space where gravity is so strong that not even light can escape, hence the name "black hole."

In contrast, white dwarfs are the remnants of smaller stars and do not pertain to the life cycles of massive stars, while red giants represent a phase earlier in a star's life, where it has already expanded significantly. Neutron stars are also a possibility, but they