2 min read•Last Updated on July 25, 2024
Binary systems can get wild when stars start swapping material. As one star expands beyond its Roche lobe, it begins dumping mass onto its companion. This cosmic dance reshapes both stars and their orbits, leading to fascinating outcomes.
Mass transfer happens in various ways, from gentle stellar winds to dramatic common envelope phases. The accreting star often forms a disk of hot gas, which can trigger outbursts and jets. These processes leave telltale signs we can observe across the electromagnetic spectrum.
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Accretion (astrophysics) - Wikipedia View original
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Frontiers | Asteroseismology of Close Binary Stars: Tides and Mass Transfer View original
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23.5 The Evolution of Binary Star Systems | Astronomy View original
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Accretion (astrophysics) - Wikipedia View original
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An accretion disk is a structure formed by diffused material in orbital motion around a central body, often a star or black hole. This disk is created when gas, dust, or other matter falls towards the central object due to gravitational attraction and gathers into a flat, rotating disk as it spirals inward, generating significant heat and energy during the process.
Term 1 of 18
An accretion disk is a structure formed by diffused material in orbital motion around a central body, often a star or black hole. This disk is created when gas, dust, or other matter falls towards the central object due to gravitational attraction and gathers into a flat, rotating disk as it spirals inward, generating significant heat and energy during the process.
Term 1 of 18
An accretion disk is a structure formed by diffused material in orbital motion around a central body, often a star or black hole. This disk is created when gas, dust, or other matter falls towards the central object due to gravitational attraction and gathers into a flat, rotating disk as it spirals inward, generating significant heat and energy during the process.
Term 1 of 18
The Roche lobe is an imaginary region surrounding a star in a binary system, within which the star's gravitational influence dominates the gravitational pull of its companion star. This region plays a crucial role in understanding mass transfer between stars, as it defines the area where a star can hold onto its material. When one star expands and fills its Roche lobe, it can begin to transfer material to its companion, leading to significant astrophysical processes such as accretion.
Lagrange Point: Positions in space where the gravitational forces of two large bodies create an area of equilibrium for a smaller object, important for understanding the dynamics within binary systems.
Mass Transfer: The process by which material is transferred from one star to another in a binary system, often occurring when one star fills its Roche lobe.
Accretion Disk: A structure formed by diffused material in orbital motion around a central body, often occurring when material from a Roche lobe is transferred to a companion star.
An accretion disk is a structure formed by diffused material in orbital motion around a central body, often a star or black hole. This disk is created when gas, dust, or other matter falls towards the central object due to gravitational attraction and gathers into a flat, rotating disk as it spirals inward, generating significant heat and energy during the process.
Black Hole: A region of spacetime exhibiting gravitational acceleration so strong that nothing can escape from it, including light.
Event Horizon: The boundary surrounding a black hole beyond which no light or other radiation can escape.
Mass Transfer: The process by which matter flows from one astronomical object to another, often seen in binary systems where one star pulls material from its companion.