Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Stars shine we know that. But they can only shine until all their energy is used up. Here we will consider what happens to stars as they burn their fuel, first hydrogen, then helium, etc. Stars go through different evolutionary stages as their energy source changes. This results in changes in the surface temperature (thus color), the luminosity (the energy output per second), and their sizes. In general stars produce metals (up to iron, but this depends on their initial mass), and during the final stages of their evolution they shed a large fraction of their material into space, thus recycling interstellar material leaving behind white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes. How long a star lasts in each stage, whether it dies as planetary nebula or a spectacular supernova depends on the initial mass of the star. Massive stars evolve quicker than less massive stars. Solar-mass stars will end up as white dwarfs, and very massive ones as black holes.
Horizontal Branch star. Fusion in the core (He Carbon) releases more energy/second than the core fusion of the main sequence stage, so the star is bigger, but stable. Hydrostatic equilibrium is restored now.
Planetary Nebulae
In the next-to-last stage of a star's life, the outer layers are ejected as the core shrinks to its most compact state. A large amount of mass is lost at this stage as the outer layers are returned to the interstellar medium. For the common low mass stars (those with masses of 0.08 - 5 times the mass of the Sun during their main sequence stage), the increased number of photons flowing outward from the star's hot, compressed core will push on the carbon and silicon grains that have formed in the star's cool outer layers to eject the outer layers and form a planetary nebula. The ultraviolet light from the hot exposed core, called a white dwarf, causes the gases to fluoresce. Most noticeable is the red emission
from the excited hydrogen and nitrogen, the green emission from doubly-ionized oxygen, and the blue emission from excited helium. Planetary nebula get their name because some looked like round, green planets in early telescopes. We now know that they are entirely different than the planets and are about one or more light years across (much larger than our solar system!). Many planetary nebulae will look like rings (for example, the Ring Nebula in Lyra or the Helix Nebula in Aquarius) because when we look along the edge of the expanding spherical shell, we look through more material than when we look toward the center of the shell. The round soap bubbles you made as a child (or still do!) look like rings for the same reason. High-resolution images of planetary nebulae show complex structures i n the expanding nebula (check the Helix Nebula on the Web). The expanding gas from the planetary nebula ejection runs into gas and dust dispersed in the red giant winds. As it passes the slower moving red giant wind material, the gas shapes the denser blobs into comet-like shapes. Although they are called comet knots, they are not to be confused with real comets in our solar system. Each of these blobs is over twice the size of our entire solar system! Other planetary nebulae have a more asymmetrical appearance. The outflow is bipolar, resulting from a more complex interaction of the final outer layer ejection and the material from the stellar winds of the earlier stages. Examples of such nebulae are the Cat Eye Nebula and the Dumbbell Nebula. Selecting the image below will bring up an enlarged view of the Cat Eye (check the Web). Also, earlier jets of gas from the evolving star and companion stars may be needed to explain the complex structure of nebulae like the Hourglass Nebula (web) and why the white dwarf is not at the center of the green region in the middle. The two rings are centered along the star's poles that are oriented around 60 to our line of sight. The upper ring is around the pole that is coming towards us and the lower ring is around the pole that is oriented away from us. There is evidence that the Ring Nebula is similar to the Hourglass Nebula except that we are viewing it from right along the pole, so just one ring is seen.
White Dwarfs
Nuclear reactions have now stopped; the outer layers have been dispersed, and the only remaining part of the star is the small carbon core. This core is rather hot and thus blueish whitish, however since there is no more nuclear fuel left, its luminosity will decrease. Thus it will fade and get cooler, turning from a White Dwarf into a Red and finally a Black Dwarf. Its size will be roughly comparable to that of the Earth. White Dwarfs are degenerate stars, i.e. their material is packed as closely together as is possible. WDs still emit light, but their are slowly running out of energy and cooling (analogous to a heated iron rod that is left to cool). Their energy source is no longer nuclear fuel, not gravity, but just their own thermal energy. And if we had not been fried and destroyed during the Giant phase, we would freeze the death now
At Stage 4: Sudden onset of Helium to Carbon fusion (Tripple Alpha process, 3) He-flash = Core explosion (invisible) Followed by: Re-adjustment rather rapid Helium core burning and Hydrogen shell burning How did a HE-flash happen? Core is degenerate electrons as close as possible Central temperature keeps on rising Perfect gas law does not apply to degenerate gases As temperature increases, the pressure does no longer balance it out Temp can increase further reaction rates speed up until He fusion starts this reaction is even more energetic (energy generation rate is proportional to T40) faster reaction more energy output higher temp run-away process core explosion - Helium Flash Stage 5: Horizontal branch phase Comparable to main sequence phase with one main difference: Energy Source: HeC (3) and HHe Helium core burning Hydrogen shell burning Energy generation is a lot higher Stage 6: A brief Variable star phase (only in certain place of HRD) RR Lyrae star Instability over-expansion of envelope collapse of envelope too much collapse rebounce expansion too much expansion etc radius increases and decreases surface temperature increases and decreases luminosity increases and decrease Period-Luminosity Relationship
Stage 67: On the way to a Giant/Supergiant Energy Source: some C O; He C (3) and H He Carbon/Oxygen core Helium shell burning Hydrogen shell burning Stages 1 4 repeat themselves (only faster) Carbon mass of core increases core contracts slowly (central temperature increases, reaction rates increase) envelope expands (radius increases) surface temperature decreases (color gets redder) luminosity increases star moves to the top right hand side of the HRD Red Super Giant (The Sun has now become a red giant and Mercury and Venus will be part of the sun, and maybe the Earth too. In any case we will be fried, if we have not yet died) Stage 78 as the stat grows, mass loss happens outer shells get dispersed He burning shell gets exposed to the surface get tripple alpha reactions on the surface since these are uneven, have several short flashes these are rather explosive material is expelled in shells see a planetary nebula but the central star appears to be hotter hotter means a bluer color star moves towards blue in HRD Stage 9 and beyond planetary nebula disappears star does no longer undergo any nuclear fusion star contracts star cools (the light emitted is thermal radiation) smaller, dimmer, redder means that the star moves towards the bottom right in the HRD star now is a white dwarf eventually it will become an even dimmer red dwarf