Single and binary star evolution

Abstract

After presenting a general account of the observed global properties of single stars of low, intermediate, and high mass, together with their theoretical Hertzsprung-Russell diagram evolution, attention is given to the observed properties of various evolved close binaries and to an assessment of the value of comparisons between observation and crude theory in characterizing the physics of mass transfer within interacting binary systems. Detailed consideration is then undertaken of such topics as stellar evolution in globular clusters, interior star changes due to nucleosynthesis and mixing, asymptotic giant branch stars of intermediate mass, the response of white dwarfs in binary systems to mass accretion, and scenarios for binary star evolution tending toward close white dwarf pairs.