What are stars made of
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What Are Stars Made Of?
Composition of Stars: Hydrogen and Helium
Stars are primarily composed of hydrogen and helium, the two lightest and most abundant elements in the universe. This was a groundbreaking discovery made by Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin in 1925, who found that stars contain a million times more hydrogen than previously assumed3. This composition is consistent across most stars, making hydrogen and helium the fundamental building blocks of stellar objects6.
Formation of Stars: Gas and Dust
Stars form from clouds of gas and dust that collapse under gravity. This process, known as star formation, takes about a million years from the initial collapse to the birth of a star8. During this time, the gas and dust accumulate and heat up, eventually igniting nuclear fusion in the core, which marks the birth of a star6 10.
Nuclear Fusion: The Power Source
The energy that powers stars comes from nuclear fusion, a process where hydrogen atoms combine to form helium, releasing a tremendous amount of energy in the form of light and heat. This fusion process is what makes stars shine and is responsible for the various elements found in the universe5.
Exotic Star Types: Quark Stars and Dark Stars
Quark Stars
Some stars, known as quark stars, are composed of quark matter. These stars are incredibly dense and are formed under extreme conditions where quarks, the fundamental constituents of protons and neutrons, exist freely1 4 9. Quark stars can also contain dark matter, which affects their mass and stability1.
Dark Stars
Dark stars are a theoretical type of star that is powered by the annihilation of dark matter rather than nuclear fusion. These stars are composed almost entirely of hydrogen and helium but have a unique power source that allows them to exist in a state of hydrostatic and thermal equilibrium2. Dark stars could have been the first phase of stellar evolution in the universe and may still exist in regions with high dark matter density, such as the centers of galaxies2.
Conclusion
In summary, stars are primarily made of hydrogen and helium, with their energy coming from nuclear fusion. The formation of stars involves the collapse of gas and dust under gravity, leading to the ignition of fusion in their cores. While most stars follow this general composition and formation process, there are exotic types like quark stars and dark stars that exhibit unique properties due to their unusual compositions and power sources. Understanding the composition and formation of stars not only sheds light on the stars themselves but also on the broader processes that govern the evolution of the cosmos.
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Most relevant research papers on this topic
Quark stars admixed with dark matter
The maximum stable total mass of compact stars made of quark matter and fermionic dark matter decreases linearly with an increasing dark matter fraction.
Dark stars: a review
Dark stars, powered by dark matter annihilation, may have been the first phase of stellar evolution in the history of the Universe.
Compact stars made of fermionic dark matter
Compact stars made of free fermions have a unique mass-radius relation independent of fermion mass, while strongly interacting fermions maintain a constant radius for a wide range of masses.
Elements of Stars
Stars are made of hydrogen and helium, with a broad understanding of their chemical composition and implications for the evolution of the cosmos.
星の生命 : The lives of the stars
Stars are dynamic, ever changing rotating celestial objects made of gas, mostly hydrogen and helium, formed in clusters, from clouds of gas pulled together by gravity when, under immense pressure and heat, fusion occurs, signaling the birth of the star.
Nonstrange hybrid compact stars with color superconducting matter
Nonstrange hybrid compact stars with color superconducting quark matter can be realistically constructed, with a globally neutral mixed phase and two-flavor color superconducting phase in the core.
How Do Stars Form?
Star formation involves an accumulation of gas and dust, which collapses due to gravity and creates Sun-like stars, with leftover material used to create planets and other orbiting objects.
Electrically charged strange quark stars
Ultrastrong electric fields on strange quark stars' surfaces can alter their masses and radii, enabling the interpretation of massive compact stars with masses of around 2Msub center_dot as strange quark stars.
Physical Processes in Star Formation
Star formation is a complex multi-scale phenomenon involving thermal, chemical, turbulence, magnetic fields, gravitational forces, and stellar feedback mechanisms.
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