Stellar mass is a phrase that is used by astronomers to describe the mass of a star. It is usually enumerated in terms of the Sun's mass as a proportion of a solar mass (M☉). Hence, the bright star Sirius has around 2.02 M☉.[1] A star's mass will vary over its lifetime as mass is lost with the stellar wind or ejected via pulsational behavior, or if additional mass is accreted, such as from a companion star.
Properties
Stars are sometimes grouped by mass based upon their evolutionary behavior as they approach the end of their nuclear fusion lifetimes.
Very-low-mass stars with masses below 0.5 M☉ do not enter the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) but evolve directly into white dwarfs. (At least in theory; the lifetimes of such stars are long enough—longer than the age of the universe to date—that none has yet had time to evolve to this point and be observed.)
Low-mass stars with a mass below about 1.8–2.2 M☉ (depending on composition) do enter the AGB, where they develop a degenerate helium core.
Intermediate-mass stars undergo helium fusion and develop a degenerate carbon–oxygen core.
Massive stars have a minimum mass of 5–10 M☉. These stars undergo carbon fusion, with their lives ending in a core-collapse supernova explosion.[2] Black holes created as a result of a stellar collapse are termed stellar-mass black holes.
The combination of the radius and the mass of a star determines the surface gravity. Giant stars have a much lower surface gravity than main sequence stars, while the opposite is the case for degenerate, compact stars such as white dwarfs. The surface gravity can influence the appearance of a star's spectrum, with higher gravity causing a broadening of the absorption lines.[3]
Range
One of the most massive stars known is Eta Carinae,[4] with 100–150 M☉; its lifespan is very short—only several million years at most. A study of the Arches Cluster suggests that 150 M☉ is the upper limit for stars in the current era of the universe.[5][6][7] The reason for this limit is not precisely known, but it is partially due to the Eddington luminosity which defines the maximum amount of luminosity that can pass through the atmosphere of a star without ejecting the gases into space. However, a star named R136a1 in the RMC 136a star cluster has been measured at 315 M☉, putting this limit into question.[8] A study has determined that stars larger than 150 M☉ in R136 were created through the collision and merger of massive stars in close binary systems, providing a way to sidestep the 150 M☉ limit.[9]
The first stars to form after the Big Bang may have been larger, up to 300 M☉ or more,[10] due to the complete absence of elements heavier than lithium in their composition. This generation of supermassive, population III stars is long extinct, however, and currently only theoretical.
With a mass only 93 times that of Jupiter (MJ), or .09 M☉, AB Doradus C, a companion to AB Doradus A, is the smallest known star undergoing nuclear fusion in its core.[11] For stars with similar metallicity to the Sun, the theoretical minimum mass the star can have, and still undergo fusion at the core, is estimated to be about 75 MJ.[12][13] When the metallicity is very low, however, a recent study of the faintest stars found that the minimum star size seems to be about 8.3% of the solar mass, or about 87 MJ.[13][14] Smaller bodies are called brown dwarfs, which occupy a poorly defined grey area between stars and gas giants.
Change
The Sun is losing mass from the emission of electromagnetic energy and by the ejection of matter with the solar wind. It is expelling about (2–3)×10−14 M☉ per year.[15] The mass loss rate will increase when the Sun enters the red giant stage, climbing to (7–9)×10−14 M☉ y−1 when it reaches the tip of the red-giant branch. This will rise to 10−6 M☉ y−1 on the asymptotic giant branch, before peaking at a rate of 10−5 to 10−4 M☉ y−1 as the Sun generates a planetary nebula. By the time the Sun becomes a degenerate white dwarf, it will have lost 46% of its starting mass.[16]References
Liebert, J.; et al. (2005), "The Age and Progenitor Mass of Sirius B", The Astrophysical Journal, 630 (1): L69–L72,arXiv:astro-ph/0507523, Bibcode:2005ApJ...630L..69L, doi:10.1086/462419.
Kwok, Sun (2000), The origin and evolution of planetary nebulae, Cambridge astrophysics series, 33, Cambridge University Press, pp. 103–104, ISBN 0-521-62313-8.
Unsöld, Albrecht (2001), The New Cosmos (5th ed.), New York: Springer, pp. 180–185, 215–216, ISBN 3540678778.
Smith, Nathan (1998), "The Behemoth Eta Carinae: A Repeat Offender", Mercury Magazine, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 27: 20, retrieved 2006-08-13.
"NASA's Hubble Weighs in on the Heaviest Stars in the Galaxy", NASA News, March 3, 2005, retrieved 2006-08-04.
Kroupa, P. (2005). "Stellar mass limited". Nature. 434 (7030): 148–149. doi:10.1038/434148a.
Figer, D.F. (2005). "An upper limit to the masses of stars". Nature. 434 (7030): 192–194.arXiv:astro-ph/0503193. doi:10.1038/nature03293.
Stars Just Got Bigger, European Southern Observatory, July 21, 2010, retrieved 2010-07-24.
LiveScience.com, "Mystery of the 'Monster Stars' Solved: It Was a Monster Mash", Natalie Wolchover, 7 August 2012
Ferreting Out The First Stars, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, September 22, 2005, retrieved 2006-09-05.
Weighing the Smallest Stars, ESO, January 1, 2005, retrieved 2006-08-13.
Boss, Alan (April 3, 2001), Are They Planets or What?, Carnegie Institution of Washington, archived from the original on 2006-09-28, retrieved 2006-06-08.
Shiga, David (August 17, 2006), "Mass cut-off between stars and brown dwarfs revealed", New Scientist, archived from the original on 2006-11-14, retrieved 2006-08-23.
Hubble glimpses faintest stars, BBC, August 18, 2006, retrieved 2006-08-22.
Carroll, Bradley W.; Ostlie, Dale A. (1995), An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics (revised 2nd ed.), Benjamin Cummings, p. 409, ISBN 0201547309.
Schröder, K.-P.; Connon Smith, Robert (2008), "Distant future of the Sun and Earth revisited", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 386 (1): 155–163,arXiv:0801.4031, Bibcode:2008MNRAS.386..155S, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13022.x
vte
Accretion Molecular cloud Bok globule Young stellar object
Protostar Pre-main-sequence Herbig Ae/Be T Tauri FU Orionis Herbig–Haro object Hayashi track Henyey track
Main sequence Red-giant branch Horizontal branch
Red clump Asymptotic giant branch
super-AGB Blue loop Protoplanetary nebula Planetary nebula PG1159 Dredge-up OH/IR Instability strip Luminous blue variable Blue straggler Stellar population Supernova Superluminous supernova / Hypernova
Early Late Main sequence
O B A F G K M Brown dwarf WR OB Subdwarf
O B Subgiant Giant
Blue Red Yellow Bright giant Supergiant
Blue Red Yellow Hypergiant
Yellow Carbon
S CN CH White dwarf Chemically peculiar
Am Ap/Bp HgMn Helium-weak Barium Extreme helium Lambda Boötis Lead Technetium Be
Shell B[e]
White dwarf
Helium planet Black dwarf Neutron
Radio-quiet Pulsar
Binary X-ray Magnetar Stellar black hole X-ray binary
Burster
Hypothetical
Blue dwarf Green Black dwarf Exotic
Boson Electroweak Strange Preon Planck Dark Dark-energy Quark Q Black Gravastar Frozen Quasi-star Thorne–Żytkow object Iron Blitzar
Deuterium burning Lithium burning Proton–proton chain CNO cycle Helium flash Triple-alpha process Alpha process Carbon burning Neon burning Oxygen burning Silicon burning S-process R-process Fusor Nova
Symbiotic Remnant Luminous red nova
Structure
Core Convection zone
Microturbulence Oscillations Radiation zone Atmosphere
Photosphere Starspot Chromosphere Stellar corona Stellar wind
Bubble Bipolar outflow Accretion disk Asteroseismology
Helioseismology Eddington luminosity Kelvin–Helmholtz mechanism
Properties
Designation Dynamics Effective temperature Luminosity Kinematics Magnetic field Absolute magnitude Mass Metallicity Rotation Starlight Variable Photometric system Color index Hertzsprung–Russell diagram Color–color diagram
Star systems
Binary
Contact Common envelope Eclipsing Symbiotic Multiple Cluster
Open Globular Super Planetary system
Earth-centric
observations
Sun
Solar System Sunlight Pole star Circumpolar Constellation Asterism Magnitude
Apparent Extinction Photographic Radial velocity Proper motion Parallax Photometric-standard
Lists
Proper names
Arabic Chinese Extremes Most massive Highest temperature Lowest temperature Largest volume Smallest volume Brightest
Historical Most luminous Nearest
Nearest bright With exoplanets Brown dwarfs White dwarfs Milky Way novae Supernovae
Candidates Remnants Planetary nebulae Timeline of stellar astronomy
Related articles
Substellar object
Brown dwarf Sub-brown dwarf Planet Galactic year Galaxy Guest Gravity Intergalactic Planet-hosting stars Tidal disruption event
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