Chapter 13: Problem 16
Decide whether the statement makes sense (or is clearly true) or does not make sense (or is clearly false). Explain clearly; not all these have definitive answers, so your explanation is more important than your chosen answer. The radii of white dwarf stars in close binary systems gradually increase as they accrete matter.
Short Answer
Step by step solution
Understanding White Dwarf Stars
Concept of Accretion in Binary Systems
Effects of Accretion on Radius
Evaluating the Statement
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Key Concepts
These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.
Electron-Degenerate Matter
Binary Star Systems
- Visual binaries: Where both stars can be separately observed through a telescope.
- Spectroscopic binaries: Detected through their spectral lines because they are too close to be resolved by a telescope.
- Eclipsing binaries: Change in brightness as one star passes in front of the other.
Accretion in Astronomy
- Mass transfer rate: The amount of mass being transferred.
- Roche lobe overflow: Occurs when a star's outer layers overflow into the white dwarf's gravitational influence.
- Angular momentum: Influences the accretion disk's formation around the accreting object.
Stellar Evolution
- Low to intermediate-mass stars, like our sun, become red giants and subsequently shrink into white dwarfs.
- Massive stars go through supernovae explosions, leaving behind either neutron stars or black holes.