BinEvolve.com
Title
Evolution of a Binary
Description
Excerpted from the website:
- The evolution of a binary system of two main-sequence stars can significantly affect the evolution of both component stars if the orbital separation is sufficiently small. If the orbital period is less than about 10 days, tidal interactions will have circularized the orbit during the pre- and early main-sequence phase. [60, 167, 168] Both stars start in the main sequence with the mass of the primary , and the mass of the secondary , defined such that . The binary system is described by the orbital separation , and the mass ratio of the components . The gravitational potential of the binary system is described by the Roche model where each star dominates the gravitational potential inside regions called Roche lobes. The two Roche lobes meet at the inner Lagrange point along the line joining the two stars. Figure 5 shows equipotential surfaces in the orbital plane for a binary with . If either star fills its Roche lobe, matter will stream from the Roche lobe filling star through the inner Lagrange point to the other star in a process known as Roche lobe overflow (RLOF). This mass transfer affects both the evolution of the components of the binary as well as the binary properties such as orbital period and eccentricity.
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