  An inhomogeneous compactification of a higher dimensional spacetime can
result in the formation of type I dimension bubbles, i.e., nontopological
solitons which tend to absorb and entrap massive particle modes. We consider
possible consequences of a neutron star that harbors such a soliton. The
astrophysical outcome depends upon the model parameters for the dimension
bubble, with a special sensitivity to the bubble's energy scale. For relatively
small energy scales, the bubble tends to rapidly consume the star without
forming a black hole. For larger energy scales, the bubble grows to a critical
mass, then forms a black hole within the star, which subsequently causes the
remaining star to collapse. It is possible that the latter scenario is
associated with core collapse explosions and gamma ray bursts.
