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The relationship is represented by the equation: = where L ⊙ and M ⊙ are the luminosity and mass of the Sun and 1 < a < 6. [2] The value a = 3.5 is commonly used for main-sequence stars. [ 3 ] This equation and the usual value of a = 3.5 only applies to main-sequence stars with masses 2 M ⊙ < M < 55 M ⊙ and does not apply to red giants ...
Asymptotic giant branch – Stars powered by fusion of hydrogen and helium in shell with an inactive core of carbon and oxygen; Galaxy color–magnitude diagram – Chart depicting the relationship between brightness and mass of large star systems; Hayashi track – Luminosity–temperature relationship in stars
The luminosity thus obtained is known as the bolometric luminosity. Masses are often calculated from the dynamics of the virialized system or from gravitational lensing . Typical mass-to-light ratios for galaxies range from 2 to 10 ϒ ☉ while on the largest scales, the mass to light ratio of the observable universe is approximately 100 ϒ ...
This plot gives an example of the mass-luminosity relationship for zero-age main-sequence stars. The mass and luminosity are relative to the present-day Sun. The total amount of energy that a star can generate through nuclear fusion of hydrogen is limited by the amount of hydrogen fuel that can be consumed at the core.
A star also radiates neutrinos, which carry off some energy (about 2% in the case of the Sun), contributing to the star's total luminosity. [5] The IAU has defined a nominal solar luminosity of 3.828 × 10 26 W to promote publication of consistent and comparable values in units of the solar luminosity. [6]
The internal structure of a main sequence star depends upon the mass of the star. In stars with masses of 0.3–1.5 solar masses (M ☉), including the Sun, hydrogen-to-helium fusion occurs primarily via proton–proton chains, which do not establish a steep temperature gradient. Thus, radiation dominates in the inner portion of solar mass stars.
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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 M J. [ 13 ] [ 14 ] 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 ...