Main sequence
From Aetilc
Main sequence stars fuse hydrogen atoms to form helium atoms in their cores. About 90 percent of the stars in the universe are main sequence stars. These stars can range from about a tenth of the mass of the sun to up to 200 times as massive.
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[edit] Definition
Stars start their lives as clouds of dust and gas. Gravity draws these clouds together. A small protostar forms, powered by the collapsing material. Protostars often form in densely packed clouds of gas and can be challenging to detect.
Once formed, a star settles into a long "middle age" during which it shines steadily as it converts its hydrogen supply into helium. For stars of a given chemical composition, the mass alone determines the luminosity, surface temperature, and size of the star. The luminosity increases very sharply with an increase in the mass; doubling the mass (which is proportional to the energy supply) increases the luminosity (which is proportional to the rate of using energy) more than 10 times. Hence the more massive and luminous a star is, the faster it depletes its hydrogen and the faster it evolves.
Because the middle age of a star is the longest period in stellar evolution, one would expect most of the observed stars to be at this stage and to show a strong correlation of luminosity with color (color is a measure of stellar temperature). This prediction is confirmed by plotting stars on a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, in which the majority of stars fall along a diagonal line called the main sequence. The main sequence is most heavily populated at the low luminosity end; these are the stars that evolve most slowly and so remain longest on the main sequence.
As a star's hydrogen is converted into helium, its chemical composition becomes inhomogeneous: helium-rich in the core, where the nuclear reactions occur, and more nearly pure hydrogen in the surrounding envelope. The hydrogen near the center of the core is consumed first. As this is depleted, the site of the nuclear reactions moves out from the center of the core and fusion occurs in successive concentric shells. Finally fusion occurs only in a thin, outer shell of the core, the only place where both the hydrogen content and the temperature are high enough to sustain the reactions.
[edit] Lifetime
How long a main sequence star lives depends on how massive it is. A higher-mass star may have more material, but it burns through it faster due to higher core temperatures caused by greater gravitational forces. While the sun will spend about 10 billion years on the main sequence, a star 10 times as massive will stick around for only 20 million years. A red dwarf, which is half as massive as the sun, can last 80 to 100 billion years, which is far longer than the age of the universe. (This long lifetime is one reason red dwarfs are considered to be good sources for planets hosting life, because they are stable for such a long time.)
[edit] End
Eventually, a main sequence star burns through the hydrogen in its core, reaching the end of its life cycle. At this point, it leaves the main sequence.
Stars smaller than a quarter the mass of the sun collapse directly into white dwarfs. White dwarfs no longer burn fusion at their center, but they still radiate heat. Eventually, white dwarfs should cool into black dwarfs, but black dwarfs are only theoretical; the universe is not old enough for the first white dwarfs to sufficiently cool and make the transition.
Larger stars find their outer layers collapsing inward until temperatures are hot enough to fuse helium into carbon. Then the pressure of fusion provides an outward thrust that expands the star several times larger than its original size, forming a red giant. The new star is far dimmer than it was as a main sequence star. Eventually, the sun will form a red giant, but don't worry — it won't happen for a while yet.
If the original star had up to 10 times the mass of the sun, it burns through its material within 100 million years and collapses into a super-dense white dwarf. More massive stars explode in a violent supernova death, spewing the heavier elements formed in their core across the galaxy. The remaining core can form a neutron star, a compact object that can come in a variety of forms.
The long lifetime of red dwarf means that even those formed shortly after the Big Bang still exist today. Eventually, however, these low-mass bodies will burn through their hydrogen. They will grow dimmer and cooler, and eventually the lights will go out.
