The Main Sequence

! 9.1 – Stellar energy sources

" Gravitational potential energy of a sphere

" Gravitational lifetime for a star

Chapter 9: The Main " Other energy sources

! 9.2 – Nuclear physics

Sequence " Nuclear building blocks

" Binding energy

" Nuclear reactions

" Overcoming the fusion barrier

! 9.3 – Nuclear energy for stars

! 9.4 – Stellar structure
" Hydrostatic equilibrium

" Energy transport

! 9.5 – Stellar models

! 9.6 – Solar neutrinos

Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 1 Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 2

Source of the Sun’s Energy Source of the Sun’s Energy

! By the mid-19th
century, Lord Kelvin (1824-1907) and von Helmholtz (1821-
94) estimated that the Sun could only burn known fuel (e.g. coal) for 5000
years. This agreed with religious estimates for the age of the Universe, but
was much shorter than geological and biological measurements suggesting
that the Earth is at least several hundred million years old.
! In particular, Darwin’s (1809-1882) theory on the origin of species by natural
selection required timescales of many hundred million years.
! A second possible source of energy is gravitational energy. As the Sun
formed from a gas cloud as large as the orbit of Mercury and
contracted to its present size, it would convert gravitational potential
energy to kinetic energy (this is sometimes referred to as “Kelvin-
Helmholtz contraction”). However, this could power the Sun for only
about 7 million years. Thus, the energy source cannot be a
gravitational process.

! If the Sun’s energy comes from burning methane gas, the Sun would burn
all of its mass in approximately 29,000 years. Because natural gas is a very
efficient fuel, we can eliminate the possibility that the Sun is powered by
chemical reactions. Thus, the energy source cannot be a chemical
process.
! Assuming the Sun and solar system formed simultaneously, the Sun
is at least several million years old, and has had its present
luminosity for that length of time.
! What source of energy can steadily power the Sun for such a long
period of time?

Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 3 Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 4

Source of the Sun’s Energy Gravitational Lifetime

! Einstein would solve the Kelvin-Helmholtz paradox for the source of solar ! How long can the stored gravitational potential energy power a star?
energy with his famous equation E = mc2. According to this equation and
with the speed of light being so large, even small amounts of mass translate
into enormous amounts of energy. ! The gravitational lifetime is tg. The lifetime is the stored energy E,
divided by the rate at which the energy is being lost, the luminosity
! The transformation of 4 million tons of matter into energy every second
releases enough energy to make the Sun shine for billions of years.

! Early work by Sir Arthur Eddington (1919) and detailed work by Hans
E
Bethe and Carl von Weizsacker (late 1930s) showed that the temperature
and pressure in the center of the Sun is great enough to fuse hydrogen into tg =
helium (thermonuclear fusion).
dE / dt
! By multiplying the rate at which the Sun generates energy by the age of the
Sun (about five billion years) the average amount of energy radiated by every E
gram of solar material since the Sun formed is 3!1017 erg/g.
=
L
Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 5 Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 6
 Thermonuclear Fusion Thermonuclear Fusion
! The net effect of the nuclear reaction which take place in the Sun’s core Mass of 4 hydrogen atoms = 6.693 ! 10-24 g
is to use 4 hydrogen nuclei (4 protons) to create one helium Mass of 1 helium atom = 6.645 ! 10-24 g
nucleus (2 protons and 2 neutrons). ------------------------------------------------------------
! The hydrogen nucleus (1 proton) has an “atomic weight” of 1.00797, and Mass lost = 0.048 ! 10-24 g
four protons are required to make a helium nucleus. Four protons then
! About 0.7% of the mass of the Hydrogen going into the nuclear reactions does
have an atomic weight of 4 ! 1.00797=4.0319.
not show up in the mass of Helium.
! However, the atomic weight of one Helium nucleus is 4.0026, leaving a
mass deficit of 0.0293. The mass liberated in the form of energy in this
E = mc2 = (0.048 ! 10-24 g) x (3 ! 1010 cm/s)2
thermonuclear conversion is the fraction 0.0293/4.0319=0.0073 of the
E = 4.3 ! 10–5 erg released for each He created
available mass of the original hydrogen nucleus (i.e., a proton).

! The energy released is simply the difference between the mass of 4 H atoms
and 1 He atom : E=(!m) c2 !m =m(4H1) - m(He4) = 0.007 m(4H1)
Define “efficiency” " = !m / m = 0.007
! Fusion of 1 g of hydrogen would generate 6.4 ! 1018 erg. There is hydrogen
enough to power the Sun for another five billion years at the present rate.
! To fuel the Sun’s present energy output, H must be fused into He at a rate of
600 million ton/s, converting 4.3 million tons of matter into energy every
second.

Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 7 Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 8

The Age of the Sun
! Assume that the Sun was originally 75% hydrogen and that only the
inner 40% of its mass can be converted from hydrogen into helium.
Since 0.7% of the mass of hydrogen would be converted to energy in
forming a helium nucleus, the amount of nuclear energy available in
the Sun would be:
Enuclear = 0.4 x 0.007 x 0.75 x Msol c2 = ~ 1051 ergs
Thermonuclear Fusion
! Two atomic nuclei will fuse to form one larger nucleus if they approach
within 10–15 m of one another. At this distance, the strong nuclear force
will bind the nuclei together.
! In order for the nuclei to come this close, electrostatic repulsive forces
must first be overcome. This requires very high temperatures: the core
of the Sun has a temperature of 15 million degrees, sufficient for
Hydrogen nuclei to fuse together into a Helium nucleus.
Electromagnetic repulsion
repulsive
Force on proton

! This gives a lifetime of :

0
t = (available fuel)/(rate of consumption)
distance ~ 10–15 m
t = Enuclear/LSol = 3,2 ! 1017 s = 1010 yr = 10 Gy

! The current age of the Sun is 4.6 Gy attractive Strong nuclear attraction,
a very short-range force
Distance

Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 9 Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 10

Thermonuclear Fusion Binding Energy

! The nucleon number N refers to the sum of protons and neutrons,
e.g. Fe56 = 26 protons + 30 neutrons.
! The work required to
! In a fusion reaction, two light nuclei with N<56 collide and combine disassemble a nucleus is
to form a massive nucleus while liberating energy (exothermic); in a the binding energy of the
fission reaction, a massive nucleus is split into smaller pieces. Splitting nucleus.
requires energy (endothermic).

! Stellar nucleosynthesis is the

collective term for the nuclear
reactions taking place in stars to
build the nuclei of the heavier
elements.

Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 11 Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 12
 Binding Energy Example
! Example 9.2 - Deuteron binding energy
! Following from the conservation of energy and Einstein’s " Calculate the binding energy of the deuteron, an isotope of hydrogen
mass-energy equation E = mc2, we can find the binding energies containing one proton and one neutron
of nuclei: m p = 1.6726 "10 !24 g
2 2 mn = 1.6749 "10 ! 24 g
M nucleusc + BE = (Zm p + Nmn )c md = 3.3436 "10 ! 24 g

where BE is the binding energy.

BE = (m p + mn " md )c 2
= (3.9 !10 " 27 g )(3.0 !1010 cm/s) 2
= 3.6 !10 "6 erg
= 2.2 MeV
!
Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 13 Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 14

Beta Decay Proton-Proton Chain

1
! Two protons combine to form H+1H"2 H + e + + #
! The basic beta decay reaction is a deuteron, a positron and a
neutrino (p + p " d + e + +! )
n " p + e # +! ! Once the deuteron has been
! 2
H+1H"3 He + #
created, it can quickly react
with another proton forming
where the bar over the # indicates an antineutrino a helium isotope and a (d + p"3 He + # )
gamma-ray

!
3
! The 3H nuclei combine: He+ 3 He"4 He +1 H+1H
!
Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 15 Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 16

The P- P Chain: Step 1 The P-P Chain: Step 2

! The creation of a Helium nucleus from four Hydrogen nuclei does not ! In the second stage, one proton combines with a deuteron created in the
occur directly. first process, to form an isotope of Helium, 3He, with one neutron and
! In the first stage, two protons, 1H, combine via $-decay (p+ % n + e+ + #e) two protons. Energy is emitted in the form of a gamma ray photon.
to form a deuteron, 2H (a nucleus composed of one proton and one
neutron), releasing a positron, e!, (a positively charged electron) and a
neutrino, #, in the process:

2H + 1H # 3He + g
1H + 1H # 2H + e+ +n
! Remember that the number of protons in a nucleus identifies the
! The positrons produced by this reaction quickly encounter electrons and element (e.g. H, He, C, O, etc). The number of neutrons can vary,
are annihilated, releasing energy in the form of a gamma ray photon, &: although most nuclei contain equal numbers of protons and neutrons.
Nuclei with the same number of protons but different number of neutrons
e+ + e- # g are called isotopes of that particular element.

Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 17 Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 18
 The P-P Chain: Step 3 The Proton - Proton Chain
! In the third and last stage, two Helium isotopes created in the ! The net effect of the three stages is therefore:
second stage combine to produce a Helium nucleus and two
protons, again releasing energy in the process:

4(1H) # 4He + 2# + &

1. The gamma rays are slowly degraded in energy as they pass

through the solar interior (in roughly 200,000 years), and
radiation eventually leaves the surface in the form of visible light!
3He + 3He # 4He + 1H + 1H + g 2. The neutrinos escape in a few seconds unhindered into space!
3. The helium stays put in the core!

Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 19 Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 20

The Proton - Proton Chain CNO cycle

12
! Steps to the CNO cycle C+1H"13 N + #
13
! The result is the conversion
of four protons into one 4He
N"13 C + e + + $
nucleus and two positrons, 13
two neutrinos and three C+1H"14 N + #
photons
14
N+1H"15 O + #
15
O"15 N + e + + $
T>106 K 15
N+1H"12 C+ 4 He

Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 21 Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 22

Stellar Nucleosynthesis Stellar Nucleosynthesis

! The P-P chain is the main ! In evolved massive stars, the stellar core can reach T>108K to
fuse helium into carbon, according to the triple alpha process.
source of nuclear energy for This critical temperature must be greater than that required
the Sun and is effective if to fuse helium since the fused nuclei are more massive and the
T>106 K. number of protons per nucleon thus increases; as a result, the
! Hydrogen may also fuse into electrical repulsion is more significant. A high temperature is
thus needed to overcome this repulsion.
helium via rare carbon nuclei
(already present in 2nd
! The structure of a star is ultimately determined by its microscopic
generation stars) at T>107 K. properties (atomic level) and macroscopic nature (mass, accretion)
This is the CNO cycle first
proposed by Hans Bethe in ! The triple alpha process is:
1938 that uses carbon,
nitrogen, and oxygen as He4 + He4 ' Be8 + & (first stage of He burning)
catalysts to produce helium Be8 + He4 ' C12 + &
with the restitution of carbon
at the end of the cycle.

Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 23 Chapter 9 Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics 25