Science· 2012Q1
Binary Interaction Dominates the Evolution of Massive Stars
- 2,116citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2012year
Short summary
Over 70% of massive stars exchange mass with a companion, leading to mergers in one-third of cases, a rate significantly higher than previously estimated.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Over 70% of massive stars engage in mass exchange with a companion star.
- Binary mergers occur in one-third of massive star systems due to mass exchange.
- Binary interaction is the primary driver of massive star evolution.
- These findings necessitate a re-evaluation of massive star populations and supernova progenitors.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
The presence of a nearby companion alters the evolution of massive stars in binary systems, leading to phenomena such as stellar mergers, x-ray binaries, and gamma-ray bursts. Unambiguous constraints on the fraction of massive stars affected by binary interaction were lacking. We simultaneously measured all relevant binary characteristics in a sample of Galactic massive O stars and quantified the frequency and nature of binary interactions. More than 70% of all massive stars will exchange mass with a companion, leading to a binary merger in one-third of the cases. These numbers greatly exceed previous estimates and imply that binary interaction dominates the evolution of massive stars, with implications for populations of massive stars and their supernovae.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Science, 2012 · DOI ↗
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Field: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy and AstrophysicsPhysics and Astronomy