Evolution of red‐giant stars

JAN 01, 1976

Thermal instabilities in helium‐burning shells are linked to the origin of certain elements heavier than iron—in one star the surface abundances of these elements increased by 25 times in the last ten years.

DOI: 10.1063/1.3023252

Allen V. Sweigart

Theorists are paying a lot of attention nowadays to the structure and evolution of highly luminous stars with low surface temperatures. These stars, referred to as “red giants” because of their color and large radii, are believed to be in an advanced phase of their evolution. Most stars pass through at least one such phase, late in their lifetimes—as will our Sun.

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More about the authors

Allen V. Sweigart, Yale University Observatory, New Haven, Connecticut.