Star Genesis

Star Genesis

KRS Murthy

The Genesis of stars in our universe is intriguing. Stars are formed when a large cloud of hydrogen suddenly coalesce and thus collapse to a very high density, accompanied and followed by burning of the hydrogen, and hydrogen being the fuel. A critical mass of hydrogen is required at the beginning of this sudden collapse.

For us to understand further about star formation principles and the life time of stars, and also the death of stars, meaning hydrogen stars, it is imperative to investigate some fundamental concepts in physics, to especially understand the atomic level, molecular level, and star level fundamentals. I will explain one fundamental concept at a time, sometimes the relationships between the different or related concepts, or else your knowledge of fundamental physics and the physics of star formation will be fuzzy and even be incorrect many times.

Burning in Stars

All of us have seen the stars burning and produce heat, plasma and a lot of electromagnetic radiation. Our Sun as a star is an example of our own witness every day, so are other stars in our galaxy and stars in other galaxies of our universe. We have also know that the stars burn their hydrogen and fuse the hydrogen to form helium in its core, where the heat is in millions of degrees. The cores of stars are like oven of fusion, the fusion of hydrogen to produce helium. We know that hydrogen has one proton in the nucleus at its center and one electron orbiting the proton in the nucleus. Upon fusion, the result is the creation of a nucleus with two protons, and two electrons orbiting around the larger nucleus, thus making the helium atom.

What is really “burning” referred to in this context?

“Burning” is associated with the production of heat, flame, plasma, and electromagnetic radiation.

When atoms collide with each other they exchange kinetic energy. The atoms may bounce off each other, bounce between multiple other atoms, with collision and increased collision. Once a critical rate of collision is reached, electromagnetic radiation results.

The electromagnetic radiation may contain many frequencies and associated wavelengths. Electromagnetic radiation in the infrared wavelengths is heat. Wavelengths in smaller wavelengths from red to violet is seen as light, and associated colors, by humans. The different wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation of light create different sensations of colors, and white light, in human beings and animals. Light is an experience, as is the heat, in human brains, perceived and processed with and through the eyes, the full network of sensory components and especially understood by our brain. Heat radiation is sensed by other organs and their components in our body, finally perceived by our brain.

Our Sun as a star also produces ultraviolet, X rays and higher frequencies that even reach the earth. In the first satellite built and launched by India of which program I was fortunate to play a primary part, diurnal variation solar X rays were measured using scintillation counters on the satellite.

Burning is nothing but the increased collision of hydrogen atoms, resulting in the expulsion of radiation, which is perceived on earth as light, heat and electromagnetic radiation. However, it should be noted that only a small part of the electromagnetic radiation leaves the star like our Sun, expanding in all directions away from the Sun, out of which only a very insignificant part travels towards the earth, while many parts of the radiation is absorbed in their traveling path, and only the remaining fractional part reaches the earth.

What we receive on the earth is only a waste lost from the Sun, similar concepts being true for other stars also.

While radiation escapes the stars from their surface only, the remaining burning intensity inside and all the way to the core perform different functions. If we virtually travel from the surface of the stars towards its center, the intensity of collision increases. In other words, the intensity of collision of the hydrogen atoms translates to decreasing mean free path between the collision of the hydrogen atoms, which also translates to the density of hydrogen atoms per unit volume. Very close to the center of the star, the hydrogen atoms are pressured so close together that the electrons in orbit around the proton in the hydrogen atoms rip each others away from their nucleus, called degenerate electrons, giving the nuclei and their protons to come so very close to each other that protons join to form a larger nuclei of two protons; the electrons that were torn away from their original single proton nucleus find themselves orbiting around nuclei of two protons. This is the genesis of “Helium” atoms in the innermost core surrounded by hot “soup of hydrogen atoms.

Smaller stars may fuse hydrogen atoms in their core into helium atoms, whereas the larger stars can produce even more heat and pressure in their cores to do the further fusion of helium atoms into heavier atoms. This is because larger stars have even longer radius than the smaller stars, thus able to produce increased heat and atomic pressure harboring conditions for the fusion of hydrogen atoms to helium atoms, and further to heavier atoms. The heat and atomic pressure is proportional to the size of the stars.

Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe and is a major component of main sequence stars such as the Sun. Helium accumulates in the core of stars as a result of hydrogen nuclear fusion. Helium accounts for approximately 27 percent of the Sun's mass

Chemical composition. When stars form in the present Milky Way galaxy they are composed of about 71% hydrogen and 27% helium, as measured by mass, with a small fraction of heavier elements

27 million degrees Fahrenheit

At the core of the sun, gravitational attraction produces immense pressure and temperature, which can reach more than 27 million degrees Fahrenheit(15 million degrees Celsius). Hydrogen atoms get compressed and fuse together, creating helium. This process is called nuclear fusion.

Once the temperature reaches 15,000,000 degrees Celsius, nuclear fusion takes place in the center, or core, of the cloud. The tremendous heat given off by the nuclear fusion process causes the gas to glow creating a protostar. This is the first step in the evolution of a star.

The incredible mass of stars creates intense heat and pressure in the core, triggering the fusion process, so it makes sense that the more mass, and therefore gravity, that a star has, the greater the pressure, and the more fusion is going to be driven.
Luminosity is a measure of the power of a star. Since fusion is the source of energy in a star, we should expect the luminosity to increase as we increase the rate of fusion. Radius and temperature, on the other hand, are better understood empirically.

As a star ages, however, it begins to run out of hydrogen in its core. Since fusion provides the force to hold the star up against gravity, as fusion slows down, the core becomes denser and heats up. As it does so, the outer layers of the star expand and cool, and the star moves to the right of the diagram where we find the red giant and supergiant stars.

Radius, therefore, depends more on the age of the star than anything else, however, more massive stars will ultimately make for larger stars in the long run.

Stars are classified according to their physical characteristics. Characteristics used to classify stars include color, temperature, size, composition, and brightness. Stars vary in their chemical composition.

The Sun is a G2V type star, a yellow dwarf and a main sequence star. Stars are classified by their spectra (the elements that they absorb) and their temperature. There are seven main types of stars. In order of decreasing temperature, O, B, A, F, G, K, and M.

Why does our universe feature only neutron stars and black holes?

Why does our universe feature only neutron stars and black holes?

Krs Murthy

Why not proton stars? Have you all thought about it? The protons need to be bounded by electrons, or else they will fly off of each other.

In a "Hydrostatic Equilibrium", the outward pressure and the gravity will be in balance. The stars attempt to maintain equilibrium by striking a balance between the gravity of their enormous mass and the pressure produced by the energy
of fusion reactions. Stars like our Sun are termed as Main Sequence Stars.

The main sequence star is in equilibrium as hydrogen burning supports it against gravitational collapse.

What happens as the hydrogen runs out?

Off the main sequence, the stellar properties depend on both mass and age:

1. Those that have finished fusing H to He in their cores are no longer in the main sequence.
2. All stars become larger and redder after exhausting their core hydrogen: giants and super-giants.
3. Most stars end up small and dim after fusion has ceased: white dwarfs.
4. Observations of star clusters show that a star becomes larger, redder, and more luminous after its time on the main sequence is over.
5. At the end of their main sequence lifetime, when hydrogen in the core is exhausted, stars ascend the red giant stage.

In a Neutron Star, all the electrons collapse into the nucleus combining with the protons, thus becoming a star with only neutrons. Neutrons do not repel each other.

This happens due to intense gravitation after a star burns completely and uses up all its hydrogen fuel. The star while active is balanced by the outward pressure of the burning fuel against the intense gravitation of its core. Once the star runs out of the fuel, the outward pressure loses over to the inner core's gravitational pull. Depending on the mass of the star, it may become one of few of the categories listed below: As a star ages, however, it begins to run out of hydrogen in its core. Since fusion provides the force to hold the star up against gravity, as fusion slows down, the core becomes denser and heats up. As it does so, the outer layers of the star expand and cool, and the star moves to the right of the diagram where we find the red giant and super-giant stars.

Radius, therefore, depends more on the age of the star than anything else, however, more massive stars will ultimately make for larger stars in the long run.

Stars are classified according to their physical characteristics. Characteristics used to classify stars include color, temperature, size, composition, and brightness. Stars vary in their chemical composition.

The Sun is a G2V type star, a yellow dwarf and a main sequence star. Stars are classified by their spectra (the elements that they absorb) and their temperature. There are seven main types of stars. In order of decreasing temperature, O, B, A, F, G, K, and M

From where did all the heavy elements come to earth?

From where did all the heavy elements come to earth?

Krs Murthy

Our Sun is currently burning, or fusing, hydrogen into helium. This is the process that occurs during most of a star's lifetime. After the hydrogen in the star's core is exhausted, the star can burn helium to form progressively heavier elements, carbon and oxygen and so on, until iron and nickel are formed. This is all in the future life of our Sun.

Therefore, all the heavy elements like silver, gold, lead, platinum, uranium and all the heavier elements must have come from other stars of our galaxy that are many times larger and older than our very young Sun. It is even possible that the different heavy elements in the mineral and other deposits might have come from stars in other galaxies hundreds to thousands in size and age compared to our Sun. The deposits were probably "Cosmic Gift Parcels" carried from various stars of various ages many times older and light years farther deposited by the interstellar and inter-galactic traveling space objects.

This type of material transfers is probably so common, especially in universal time scales, that many planets may exist orbiting the stars in our galaxy and other galaxies gifted from multiple deposit transfer between stars that are actually cosmic and galactic foundries of different elements.

What is “Burning” of the Hydrogen in the Stars?

What is “Burning” of the Hydrogen in the Stars?

Krs Murthy

All of us have seen the stars burning and produce heat, plasma and a lot of electromagnetic radiation. Our Sun as a star is an example of our own witness every day, so are other stars in our galaxy and stars in other galaxies of our universe. We have also know that the stars burn their hydrogen and fuse the hydrogen to form helium in its core, where the heat is in millions of degrees. The cores of stars are like oven of fusion, the fusion of hydrogen to produce helium. We know that hydrogen has one proton in the nucleus at its center and one electron orbiting the proton in the nucleus. Upon fusion, the result is the creation of a nucleus with two protons, and two electrons orbiting around the larger nucleus, thus making the helium atom.

Hydrogen Burning on the Earth Versus on the Stars

The earth has an atmosphere of oxygen among other gases. The burning of hydrogen on the earth includes mixing of the hydrogen with the oxygen in the atmosphere, producing the by-product of water. This is aerobic combustion, meaning participation of oxygen in the combustion process. Oxygen participates in all combustion processes on the earth.
However, the stars, including our sun, may not have 'manufactured' the oxygen and may have only hydrogen or helium. Therefore, the burning in stars like our sun is anaerobic. The heat is produced by the gas pressure of hydrogen or helium as an example. In these type of anaerobic combustion processes, gaseous pressure and heat are two expressions of the same property of the gaseous activities.

If the hydrogen is “burning” in the anaerobic mode in a star, where do the heat radiation and also other electromagnetic waves come from? You may note that hydrogen atoms have only one proton in the nucleus with only one electron orbiting the nucleus. As we know in the physics of electromagnetic radiation from atoms require the electrons to gain energy and move to a higher orbit and be an excited state, to later drop back to the original energy state, thus giving out the energy difference in the form of an energy quantum. The differential energy quantum has an associated frequency or wavelength expressed by Planck-Einstein relation, and it looks like this: E = hf. Here, E is the energy of each packet (or 'quanta') of light, measured in Joules; f is the frequency of light, measured in hertz; and h is the Planck's constant.

Where does the energy come from for the electrons to get to an energized state?

The only energy that drives the whole process, the sequence of processes, starting from a hydrogen cloud to the formation of a star, star burning, production of heavier elements, the full life cycle, is the gravitational forces. This force could act in the cohesion of the hydrogen atoms in the hydrogen cloud bringing the atoms together, especially suddenly, rather than slowly. This is like a chain of reactions that accelerates as the hydrogen atoms are drawn to each other with increasing force, the force increased by a square law with decreasing distance from each other. Once a critical density of the hydrogen atoms is reached, there is no turning back, as the different phases of star formation, it temperature and pressure increasing starting from the surface towards the core.

Higher the mass of the overall hydrogen cloud at the starting of the chain of reactions leading to the star formation, the higher the resulting temperature/pressure at the core, which increases progressively with time.

Once the surface reaches a critical temperature it starts glowing with the emission of electromagnetic waves, including infrared, visible light spectrum, ultraviolet and X rays. The emission spectrum is a reflection of the spectrum of vibrational modes of the energy of the hydrogen atoms on the surface of the star.

What is really “burning” referred to in this context?

“Burning” is associated with the production of heat, flame, plasma, and electromagnetic radiation.

When atoms collide with each other they exchange kinetic energy. The atoms may bounce off each other, bounce between multiple other atoms, with collision and increased collision. Once a critical rate of collision is reached, electromagnetic radiation results.

The electromagnetic radiation may contain many frequencies and associated wavelengths. Electromagnetic radiation in the infrared wavelengths is heat. Wavelengths in smaller wavelengths from red to violet is seen as light, and associated colors, by humans. The different wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation of light create different sensations of colors, and white light, in human beings and animals. Light is an experience, as is the heat, in human brains, perceived and processed with and through the eyes, the full network of sensory components and especially understood by our brain. Heat radiation is sensed by other organs and their components in our body, finally perceived by our brain.

Our Sun as a star also produces ultraviolet, X rays and higher frequencies that even reach the earth. In the first satellite built and launched by India of which program I was fortunate to play a primary part, diurnal variation solar X rays were measured using scintillation counters on the satellite.

Burning is nothing but the increased collision of hydrogen atoms, resulting in the expulsion of radiation, which is perceived on earth as light, heat and electromagnetic radiation. However, it should be noted that only a small part of the electromagnetic radiation leaves the star like our Sun, expanding in all directions away from the Sun, out of which only a very insignificant part travels towards the earth, while many parts of the radiation is absorbed in their traveling path, and only the remaining fractional part reaches the earth.

What we receive on the earth is only a waste lost from the Sun, similar concepts being true for other stars also.

While radiation escapes the stars from their surface only, the remaining burning intensity inside and all the way to the core perform different functions. If we virtually travel from the surface of the stars towards its center, the intensity of collision increases. In other words, the intensity of collision of the hydrogen atoms translates to decreasing mean free path between the collision of the hydrogen atoms, which also translates to a density of hydrogen atoms per unit volume. Very close to the center of the star, the hydrogen atoms are pressured so close together that the electrons in orbit around the proton in the hydrogen atoms rip each others away from their nucleus, called degenerate electrons, giving the nuclei and their protons to come so very close to each other that protons join to form a larger nuclei of two protons; the electrons that were torn away from their original single proton nucleus find themselves orbiting around nuclei of two protons. This is the genesis of “Helium” atoms in the innermost core surrounded by hot “soup of hydrogen atoms.

Smaller stars may fuse hydrogen atoms in their core into helium atoms, whereas the larger stars can produce even more heat and pressure in their cores to do a further fusion of helium atoms into heavier atoms. This is because larger stars have even longer radius than the smaller stars, thus able to produce increased heat and atomic pressure harboring conditions for the fusion of hydrogen atoms to helium atoms, and further to heavier atoms. The heat and atomic pressure is proportional to the size of the stars.

Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe and is a major component of main sequence stars such as the Sun. Helium accumulates in the core of stars as a result of hydrogen nuclear fusion. Helium accounts for approximately 27 percent of the Sun's mass

Chemical composition. When stars form in the present Milky Way galaxy they are composed of about 71% hydrogen and 27% helium, as measured by mass, with a small fraction of heavier elements

27 million degrees Fahrenheit

At the core of the sun, gravitational attraction produces immense pressure and temperature, which can reach more than 27 million degrees Fahrenheit(15 million degrees Celsius). Hydrogen atoms get compressed and fuse together, creating helium. This process is called nuclear fusion.

Once the temperature reaches 15,000,000 degrees Celsius, nuclear fusion takes place in the center, or core, of the cloud. The tremendous heat given off by the nuclear fusion process causes the gas to glow creating a protostar. This is the first step in the evolution of a star.

The incredible mass of stars creates intense heat and pressure in the core, triggering the fusion process, so it makes sense that the more mass, and therefore gravity, that a star has, the greater the pressure, and the more fusion is going to be driven.

Luminosity is a measure of the power of a star. Since fusion is the source of energy in a star, we should expect the luminosity to increase as we increase the rate of fusion. Radius and temperature, on the other hand, are better understood empirically.

As a star ages, however, it begins to run out of hydrogen in its core. Since fusion provides the force to hold the star up against gravity, as fusion slows down, the core becomes denser and heats up. As it does so, the outer layers of the star expand and cool, and the star moves to the right of the diagram where we find the red giant and supergiant stars.

Radius, therefore, depends more on the age of the star than anything else, however, more massive stars will ultimately make for larger stars in the long run.

Stars are classified according to their physical characteristics. Characteristics used to classify stars include color, temperature, size, composition, and brightness. Stars vary in their chemical composition.

The Sun is a G2V type star, a yellow dwarf and a main sequence star. Stars are classified by their spectra (the elements that they absorb) and their temperature. There are seven main types of stars. In order of decreasing temperature, O, B, A, F, G, K, and M.

Stellar Evolution in Murthy's Gravity Model Interpretation

Stellar Evolution in Murthy's Gravity Model Interpretation

Krs Murthy

NOTE 1: The name molecular cloud is used in the scientific literature in cosmology and stellar evolution. However, the cloud actually consists of predominantly hydrogen atoms, and some percentage pf helium, and extremely small percentage of higher elements. However, they are all atoms, not molecules.

NOTE 2: I am conforming to other scientists and other writers by using the word “molecule” in this writing. Please read in your mind “atom” when you see the word “molecule” in this article. I am seriously considering deviating from other scientists and writer and use the word “atom” in my writing and lectures very soon.

Stars are formed in regions of molecular clouds and cosmic dust called nebula. The word nebula, the plural being nebulae is just Latin word for cloud. These areas of cloud are very large areas of the universe, present in many areas. For example, the vast areas between stars are known as the interstellar cloud.

The different parts of these clouds have different densities. The differential densities cause movement of different areas of the cloud. During these movements of cloud areas of different densities, nucleation of higher concentrations happen. A wide variety of nucleations and nucleations of different sizes, densities, and vigor happen. Some nucleations may grow, while others may die out, which is akin to abortions in human and animal pregnancy. Nucleations proximate to each other may combine, or larger nucleations may gobble up smaller nucleations. Once a critical nucleation size, density, and intensity levels are reached, there would be no turning back.

The molecular cloud around the center of the nucleations are sucked in as the molecular cloud collapses into the nucleations, with the combined cloud collapsing under its own weight. The analogy for us to easily imagine this process is that of the whirlpool generation in a body of water like a pond, lake, river or ocean. Whirl nucleations in bodies of water happen frequently enough, but many die out without enough critical mass, size and vigor are reached. Once a whirling picks up, there is no turning back. It is also important to note that even in the molecular clouds, after farming into nebulae, the successful nucleations may start whirling, or rotating around an axis, to draw in the surrounding molecular clouds. The collapse of the molecular cloud sets in motion of the formation of the phase in star formation called “protostar”.

Murthy's Gravity Model and Interpretation of the Star Formation Process

I have written articles on my interpretation of the play of gravity in the space-time continuation. I will provide references for the readers.

Every object, however small like the elementary particles, and all large objects like planets, stars, galaxies, galaxy clusters, super galactic size monsters, and including black holes subtend a well in the three dimensional (3D), space and time continuum, that I call them as “gravity wells”. The gravity wells may be small and shallow as in the cases of smaller objects. In large and super large objects, the gravity wells would be very deep and wide. The deep and wide gravity wells of the large and massive objects cast a wide gravity trap net around them so that any other object smaller and less massive would be drawn in trapped to fall into its gravity well. After the trapping, the two gravity wells become merged into one larger and deeper gravity well. Successive such gravity well mergers create larger and deeper gravity wells, through the accumulation of mass.

When an object is dense with much mass in small space, the gravity well is narrow and deep, whereas, in the example of a molecular cloud and nebulae, the density of mass makes the gravity well shallow and wide, around a given area/region of the molecular cloud. As the nucleations happen, the mass density increases in that area of nucleations. As the progression of the molecular cloud becoming a nebula, further in the nucleation stage, and still further rapid phase of the nucleation sucking the mass of molecular cloud and nebulae around it, the accelerated phase towards the protostar, the gravity well increases in depth and narrows progressively, resulting in mass density increase to become the protostar.

Starting as individual atoms of hydrogen, with insignificant extremely shallow gravity wells, the hydrogen atoms accumulate in successive steps and the phases of the formation of the protostar, gravity well depth, and mass density get to an irreversible pathway to becoming a protostar, and further a burning star, which at its core subtends an extremely narrow and deep gravity well.

This powerful gravity well at the very core of the star is actually the foundry to make helium from hydrogen, by fusing the two protons from two separate nuclei into a singular nucleus of two protons, with the two electrons finally orbiting the new helium nucleus.

It is also important to note that this gravity well foundry and other outer core areas within the stellar size gravity well makes it very difficult for the released electromagnetic waves, including light photons and also neutrinos, as in the case of our Sun, to escape from its gravity grip. The light photons and the neutrinos take a long time to escape the grip of the stellar grade gravity well. Both the light photons and the neutrinos will not be traveling at their normal speeds that they do in free space. Only after a struggle against the grip of the gravity well and delay, do the light photons emerge out as light waves. Inside the gravity well the light is only a photon particle, not a wave. Only after it emerges out of the star, do photons get their “wings” as a light wave. Similar struggles are true for the neutrinos. However, the neutrinos with no charge can escape from the gravity well faster than the light photons. Once the light photons are released into the free space, they are faster as light waves compared to the neutrinos in the free space.

It is also important to note that the gravity wells when in motion in the 3D space create gravity valleys along the path of travel. It is also important to understand that every object, very small elementary particle to galactic size, is in motion, never steady and stationary, under the continuous influence of its surrounding objects, always moving, thus gravity wells are traversing the 3D space in time, charting a gravity valley. The gravity valleys merge to create deeper and wider gravity valleys. In reality, there are now gravity wells, but only gravity valleys.