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    Stellar Evolution NOTES

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    Abraham Orem
    Molecular clouds in interstellar space form protostars through gravitational collapse and conservation of angular momentum. Protostars heat up through gravitational contraction until nuclear fusion of hydrogen begins, producing a main sequence star. Main sequence stars exist in equilibrium, as the pressure from nuclear fusion balances gravitational pressure. The two pathways for hydrogen fusion are the proton-proton chain for smaller stars and the carbon-nitrogen-oxygen cycle for larger stars, both producing helium from hydrogen and releasing energy.

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    Stellar Evolution NOTES

    Uploaded by

    Abraham Orem
    25 views2 pages
    Molecular clouds in interstellar space form protostars through gravitational collapse and conservation of angular momentum. Protostars heat up through gravitational contraction until nuclear fusion of hydrogen begins, producing a main sequence star. Main sequence stars exist in equilibrium, as the pressure from nuclear fusion balances gravitational pressure. The two pathways for hydrogen fusion are the proton-proton chain for smaller stars and the carbon-nitrogen-oxygen cycle for larger stars, both producing helium from hydrogen and releasing energy.

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    Stellar evolutions of...

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    Stellar-Evolution-NOTES

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    Molecular clouds in interstellar space form protostars through gravitational collapse and conservation of angular momentum. Protostars heat up through gravitational contraction until nuclear fusion of hydrogen begins, producing a main sequence star. Main sequence stars exist in equilibrium, as the pressure from nuclear fusion balances gravitational pressure. The two pathways for hydrogen fusion are the proton-proton chain for smaller stars and the carbon-nitrogen-oxygen cycle for larger stars, both producing helium from hydrogen and releasing energy.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    25 views2 pages

    Stellar Evolution NOTES

    Uploaded by

    Abraham Orem
    Molecular clouds in interstellar space form protostars through gravitational collapse and conservation of angular momentum. Protostars heat up through gravitational contraction until nuclear fusion of hydrogen begins, producing a main sequence star. Main sequence stars exist in equilibrium, as the pressure from nuclear fusion balances gravitational pressure. The two pathways for hydrogen fusion are the proton-proton chain for smaller stars and the carbon-nitrogen-oxygen cycle for larger stars, both producing helium from hydrogen and releasing energy.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    Stellar Evolution

    Describe how molecular clouds form protostars.


    Explain how nuclear fusion maintains an equilibrium state of main sequence stars.
    Understand the 2 nuclear reaction pathways of a stars energy source

    Star Birth
    Stars are born in the ‘space’ between stars called the interstellar medium, which contains molecular clouds (see
    right) that are mostly made up of cold hydrogen gas in the form of atoms. About 1% of this material is ‘dust’ in the
    form of silicates and graphite material.

    Protostars are formed when the irregular clumps rotate, and the
    action of gravity and the conservation of angular momentum spins
    them inwards to form a denser spherical centre. As such, the density
    and temperature increase. This is surrounded by a rotating at disc of
    material called the circumstellar disc, where planets may form. and

    After a time the temperature of the star so that the mutual


    electrostatic repulsion between hydrogen nuclei can be overcome
    and nuclear fusion reactions begin in its core. A strong outward
    stellar wind is produced, which opposes the infall of material. It
    starts to shine in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum,
    and is now known as a pre-main-sequence star.

    Main Sequence Stars and Nuclear Fusion


    An equilibrium state is reached because of a balance between the
    star’s own gravitational force due to mass of its outer layers pushing inwards and the internal gas pressure caused by
    hydrogen burning pushing outwards.
    The star now has a fixed mass, and its energy comes only from nuclear fusion, not from gravitational contraction. It
    is now a main-sequence star. Its mass will determine its future evolution.
    The fusion of hydrogen nuclei with a release of nuclear binding energy, known as hydrogen burning, is the primary
    source of energy generation in main-sequence stars.
    There are two principal nuclear reaction pathways in which
    hydrogen burning occurs in a star, determined by the core
    temperature of the star. These are the proton–proton chain
    (or p–p chain) and the carbon–nitrogen–oxygen cycle (or CNO
    cycle). In each of these reactions, four protons combine by
    nuclear fusion to form a single helium nucleus with a small loss
    of mass, which, by the mass–energy relation ∆E = ∆mc2 is
    released as energy.

    www.physicstutoronline.co.uk
    Energy from the fusion reactions is transported from the core to the outermost layers by convection and radiative
    (photon) diffusion.

    Nuclear Reaction Pathways


    The CNO cycle has 6 steps:
    12 1 13
    proton–proton chain converts 6𝐶 + 1𝐻 → 7𝑁 + 𝛾
    hydrogen into helium in three
    13 13
    steps: 7𝑁 → 6𝐶 + 01𝑒 + 𝜈𝑒

    13
    1
    1𝐻 + 11𝐻 → 21𝐻 + 01𝑒 + 𝜈𝑒 6𝐶 + 11𝐻 → 14
    7𝑁 +𝛾

    14
    1
    + 21𝐻 → 32𝐻𝑒 + 𝛾 7𝑁 + 11𝐻 → 15
    8𝑂 +𝛾
    1𝐻

    15 15
    3 8𝑂 → 7𝑁 + 01𝑒 + 𝜈𝑒
    2𝐻𝑒 + 32𝐻𝑒 → 42𝐻𝑒 + 11𝐻 + 11𝐻
    15
    7𝑁 + 11𝐻 → 12 4
    6𝐶 + 2𝐻𝑒

    www.physicstutoronline.co.uk

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