The birthline for intermediate-mass stars

Abstract

The protostar mass-radius relation is combined with standard premain-sequence evolutionary tracks to construct the birthline for stars of intermediate mass. This theoretical birthline is in good agreement with the observed upper envelope of the distribution of Herbig Ae and Be stars in the H-R diagram. From the intersection of the birthline with the ZAMS, it is predicted that stars with more than 10 solar masses should never exhibit an optical premain-sequence phase; this prediction also agrees with existing observations. These findings show that stars of intermediate mass are first optically visible quite close to the main sequence. Hence, their contraction ages are less than the traditional ones derived assuming large initial radii. The birthline is also well delineated by the locus in the diagram of optically visible stars with associated molecular outflows. The underlying protostar theory predicts that newly formed stars of intermediate mass burn deuterium in a subsurface shell. An outer convection zone maintained by this shell burning is proposed to be the cause of the winds and surface activity commonly observed in these stars.