Chapter 16

Evolution of
Low-Mass Stars

21st CENTURY ASTRONOMY

Fifth EDITION
Kay | Palen | Blumenthal
A Ring Nebula

2016 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

 Stars Must Change, Part 1

Stars are constantly radiating

energy.
The energy available from
fusion is very large, but finite.
Eventually, the fusion sources
change, then run out.

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 Stars Must Change, Part 2

At the end of life the stars luminosity, size,

and temperature will change.
A stars life depends on mass and
composition.
Stars of different masses evolve differently.
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 Low-Mass Stars

The rates and types of fusion depend on

the stars mass.
Generally, stars with similar masses share
many characteristics:
M < 0.4 M: very low-mass stars
0.4 M < M < 3 M : low-mass stars.
Intermediate-mass stars: 3 M < M < 8
M
High-mass stars: M > 8 M

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 Higher Mass = Shorter Lifetime, Part 1

Spectral Luminosity (L sub Main-Sequence

Higher temperature
Type Mass (M
sub sun)
Sun( Lifetime (years)
and pressure
05 60 500,000 3.6times10 superscript5 means faster
BO

B5
17.5

5.9
32,500

480
7.8times10 superscript6

1.2times10 superscript8
nuclear fusion.
AO

A5
2.9

2.0
39

12.3
7 times10superscript8

1.8times10 superscript9
We can figure out
FO 1.6 5.2 3.1times10 superscript9 main-sequence
F5

GO
1.4

1.05
2.6

1.25
4.3times10 superscript9

8.9times10 superscript9
lifetimes:
G2(Sun) 1.0 1.0 1.0times10 superscript10 lifetime = (energy
G5

KO
0.92

0.79
0.8

0.55
1.2timestosuperscript10

1.8times10 superscript10
available) / (rate
K5 0.67 0.32 2.7times10 superscript10 used).
MO 0.51 0.08 5.4times10 superscript10

M5 0.14 0.008 4.9times10 superscript11

M8 ~0.08 0.0003 1.1times10 superscript

12

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Higher Mass = Shorter Lifetime, Part 2
More mass = more
fuel available.
Rate energy used =
luminosity.
More massive stars
have much higher
luminosity.
They use up their
fuel more quickly
and leave the MS
faster.

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 Demographics of Stars

Observations of star clusters show that star formation

makes many more low-mass stars than high-mass stars.
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Evolution of Fully Convective Stars
f Stars with Very Low Mass

Red Dwarfs have 0.4 MSun

< M < 0.08 Msun
Lowest core temperature,
dimmest of all stars
Also, the most common

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 Fully Convective Stars
Fully Convective
Stars
Hot He from the core rises
to the outer layers, cool
H sinks to the core
All of the H in a fully
convective star will sink
to the core and fuse to
He

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Evolution of Fully Convective Stars
s ass

Stay on the main sequence for

100s of billions of years
Once all of the H is converted to
He, will just radiate heat and
cool down (forever)
Most common of all stars (85%
of all stars)
Very hard to see even close
ones because they are very
faint

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Low Mass Stars: Changes in Structure
Main-sequence
stars fuse hydrogen
to helium in their
cores.
Eventually, much of
the core H is
converted to He.
A core of He ash is
built up (He does not
fuse at this point).

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 Leaving the Main SequenceDegenerate Helium Core

H fusion only takes place in a shell around the He

core: hydrogen shell burning.
If H fusion is not happening in the core, the star is
no longer main sequence.
Since the He is not fusing, gravity begins to win
over the pressure, crushing the He.
The core becomes more dense, and becomes
electron degenerate.
This means pressure is not from moving atoms,
but from a quantum mechanical effect: Theres a
limit to how tightly electrons can be packed
together.
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Why the Luminosity Increases, Part 1
When the fuel runs out
of the core, the
luminosity increases.
Why?
When the core shrinks,
its gravitational pull gets
stronger.
Weight of the outer
layers increases.

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Why the Luminosity Increases, Part 2
This results in increased
pressure: Fusion in the
shell goes faster.
Faster nuclear reactions
release more energy.
This leaves the stars
surface at a higher rate
(higher luminosity).

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 Red Giant

Increase in pressure and luminosity results in

increased size and decreased surface
temperature: red giant.
H-R diagram: Star moves up and to the right.
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 End of the Red Giant Phase

He core is small, dense, electron degenerate.

Outer envelope is greatly expanded, cooler.
Fusion of H in shell creates more He, making He
nuclei in core denser and hotter.
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 Helium Flash
Once hot enough, fusion of He begins in the
degenerate core.
He fuses to carbon (C) via the triple-alpha
process starts suddenly in the helium
flash.
Star shrinks and heats up.

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The Horizontal Branch (HB)
After the helium flash,
the star is on the
horizontal branch of
the H-R diagram.
At first, He C in the
core, H He in a shell
around the core.
Star is smaller and
hotter.

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The Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB), Part 1
Helium is then used up
in the core.
He fusion in an inner
shell and H fusion in
an outer shell all
surrounding a C core.
Star gets more
luminous and cool,
and enters the
asymptotic giant
branch (AGB).

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The Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB), Part 2
As an AGB star, the
star expands even
more than as a red
giant, and cools.
H-R diagram: moves
up and to the right
again.
Dense, electron-
degenerate carbon
core.

2016 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

 After the AGB: Planetary Nebulae, Part 1

The star is very thinly spread.

Cannot hold on to the outer layers easily.
Outer layers are ejected into space, due to
instabilities in the interior.
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 After the AGB: Planetary Nebulae, Part 2

The ejected material creates a planetary

nebula.
The core shrinks and first gets very hot, but
eventually cools into a compact white dwarf.
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 Planetary Nebulae

If the conditions are right, the star will ionize the

gas in the expanding outer layers.
Will last for about 50,000 years before the gas
expands too far and disperses.

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White Dwarfs, Part 1
Leftover core of
star remains as
white dwarf.
They are hot, but
not very luminous.
Masses 0.61.4
M, size like
Earth.
Density: a ton per
teaspoonful!

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White Dwarfs, Part 2
Core is mainly
carbon and
is electron
degenerate.
Cools off in
millions of years
(not making new
energy).
All low-mass
stars become
white dwarfs.

2016 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Mass-Transfer Binary Stars, Part 1
Many stars are in binary
systems.
In each pair of low-mass
stars, the more massive
star evolves first.
It can expand only so
much before it fills its
Roche lobe and begins to
lose material due to the
other stars gravitational
pull.

2016 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Mass-Transfer Binary Stars, Part 2
Material can flow from
the giant star to the
companion. This is called
mass transfer.
The star becomes a
white dwarf.
When the second star is
a giant, it can dump
material onto the white
dwarf.

2016 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Stellar Light ShowNovae
H can collect on the hot
outer portions of the
white dwarf.
Nuclear reactions can
start, and the star gets
much brighter temporarily
nova.
For a few hours, it can be
a half-million times more
luminous than the Sun.

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Stellar CataclysmType Ia Supernovae, Part 1
The maximum mass for a
white dwarf is 1.4 M,
called the
Chandrasekhar limit.
If material dumped on the
white dwarf pushes it
over this limit, it will
collapse and explode.

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 Stellar CataclysmType Ia Supernovae, Part 2

This is called a Type Ia supernova.

The explosion is briefly as luminous as 10
billion Suns.
Nothing of that star is left behind; the other
star evolves on its own.
This process requires a binary system.
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PROCESS OF SCIENCE
Type Ia
supernovae over
time have
become very
useful.
This could only
happen after
more scientists
with greater
technology
analyzed their
properties and
realized
connections.
2016 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
 Check Your Understanding 16.1
Why does mass determine the main-sequence
lifetime of a star?

(a) Because more massive stars burn fuel faster

and therefore have shorter lives.
(b) Because more massive stars have more fuel
and therefore have longer lives.
(c) Because more massive stars burn different
fuels and therefore have longer lives.
(d) Because more massive stars have different
initial compositions and therefore have shorter
lives.

2016 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

 Check Your Understanding 16.2

When the Sun runs out of Hydrogen

fuel in its core, the core will be:

(a) empty;
(b) filled with hydrogen;
(c) filled with helium;
(d) filled with carbon.

2016 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

 Check Your Understanding 16.3
Stars begin burning helium to carbon when
the temperature rises in the core.
This temperature increase is caused by
(choose all that apply):

(a) gravitational collapse;

(b) fusion of hydrogen into helium in the core;
(c) fusion of hydrogen into helium in a shell
around the core;
(d) electron-degeneracy pressure.

2016 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

 Check Your Understanding 16.4

A planetary nebula forms from:

(a) the ejection of mass from a low-mass

star;
(b) the collision of planets around a dying
star;
(c) the collapse of the magnetosphere
of a high-mass star;
(d) the remainders of the original star-
forming nebula.

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 Check Your Understanding 16.5

A white dwarf will become a supernova if:

(a) the original star was more than 1.38 MSun;

(b) it accretes an additional 1.38 MSun from a
companion;
(c) some mass falls on it from a companion;
(d) enough mass accretes from a companion to
give the white dwarf a total mass of 1.38 MSun.

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 Working it Out 16.1Estimating Main-Sequence Lifetimes
Estimates can be made of star lifetimes,
based on mass.
The mass-luminosity relationship:

The lifetime of a star depends on the amount of fuel (M)

and how quickly it is used (L).
Can use this to compare other stars to the Sun:

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 Working it Out 16.2Escaping the Surface of an Evolved Star

A stars escape velocity

decreases once it spreads out:

Sun:

Sun as red giant:

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 This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for Chapter 16

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21st CENTURY
ASTRONOMY
Fifth EDITION
Kay | Palen | Blumenthal