Lifetime[edit]
This plot gives an example of the mass-luminosity relationship for zero-age main-sequence stars. The mass and luminosity are relative to the present-day Sun.
The total amount of energy that a star can generate through nuclear fusion of hydrogen is limited by the amount of hydrogen fuel that can be consumed at the core. For a star in equilibrium, the energy generated at the core must be at least equal to the energy radiated at the surface. Since the luminosity gives the amount of energy radiated per unit time, the total life span can be estimated, to first approximation, as the total energy produced divided by the star's luminosity.[46]
For a star with at least 0.5 M☉, once the hydrogen supply in its core is exhausted and it expands to become a red giant, it can start to fuse helium atoms to form carbon. The energy output of the helium fusion process per unit mass is only about a tenth the energy output of the hydrogen process, and the luminosity of the star increases.[47] This results in a much shorter length of time in this stage compared to the main sequence lifetime. (For example, the Sun is predicted to spend 130 million years burning helium, compared to about 12 billion years burning hydrogen.)[48] Thus, about 90% of the observed stars above 0.5 M☉ will be on the main sequence.[49] On average, main-sequence stars are known to follow an empirical mass-luminosity relationship.[50] The luminosity (L) of the star is roughly proportional to the total mass (M) as the following power law:
egin{smallmatrix}L propto M^{3.5}end{smallmatrix}
This relationship applies to main-sequence stars in the range 0.1–50 M☉.[51]
The amount of fuel available for nuclear fusion is proportional to the mass of the star. Thus, the lifetime of a star on the main sequence can be estimated by comparing it to solar evolutionary models. The Sun has been a main-sequence star for about 4.5 billion years and it will become a red giant in 6.5 billion years,[52] for a total main sequence lifetime of roughly 1010 years. Hence:[53]
egin{smallmatrix} au_{
m MS} approx 10^{10} ext{years} cdot left[ frac{M}{M_{igodot}}
ight] cdot left[ frac{L_{igodot}}{L}
ight] = 10^{10} ext{years} cdot left[ frac{M}{M_{igodot}}
ight]^{-2.5} end{smallmatrix}