Helium star

Short description: Blue star with strong helium lines

A helium star is a class O or B star (blue), which has extraordinarily strong helium lines and weaker than normal hydrogen lines, indicating strong stellar winds and a mass loss of the outer envelope. Extreme helium stars (EHe) entirely lack hydrogen in their spectra. Pure helium stars lie on or near a helium main sequence, analogous to the main sequence formed by the more common hydrogen stars.[1]

## Contents

* 1 Terminology
* 2 Description
* 3 See also
* 4 References

## Terminology

Previously, a helium star was a synonym for a B-type star, but this use of for the term is considered obsolete.[2]

A helium star is also a term for a hypothetical star that could occur if two helium white dwarfs with a combined mass of at least 0.5 solar masses merge and subsequently start nuclear fusion of helium, with a lifetime of a few hundred million years. This may only happen if these two binary masses share the same type of envelope phase. It is believed this is the origin of the extreme helium stars.

## Description

The helium main sequence is a line in the HR diagram where unevolved helium stars lie. It lies mostly parallel and to the left (i.e. higher temperatures) of the better-known hydrogen main sequence, although at high masses and luminosities it bends to the right and even crosses the hydrogen main sequence. Therefore, pure helium stars have a maximum temperature, between about 100,000 K and 150,000 K depending on metallicity, because high luminosity causes dramatic inflation of the stellar envelope.[3]

Helium stars' great capability of transforming into other stellar objects has been observed over recent years since they were first identified. The blue progenitor system of the supernova type Iax SN 2012Z in the spiral galaxy NGC 1309 is similar to the progenitor of the Galactic helium nova V445 Puppis, suggesting that SN 2012Z was the explosion of a white dwarf accreting from a helium-star companion. It is observed to have caused a growing helium star that has the potential to transform into a red giant after losing its hydrogen envelope in the future.[4]

## See also

* Carbon star
* R Coronae Borealis variable

## References

1. ↑ Yoon, S.-C.; Langer, N. (2004). "Helium accreting CO white dwarfs with rotation: Helium novae instead of double detonation". Astronomy and Astrophysics 419 (2): 645–652. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20035823. Bibcode: 2004A&A...419..645Y.
2. ↑ Frost, E. B.; Barrett, S. B.; Struve, O. (1926). "Radial velocities of 368 helium stars". The Astrophysical Journal 64 (5): 283–285. doi:10.1086/142986. PMID 16587079. Bibcode: 1926ApJ....64....1F.
3. ↑ Köhler, K.; Langer, N.; de Koter, A.; De Mink, S.E.; Crowther, P.A.; Evans, C.J. et al. (2015). "The evolution of rotating very massive stars with LMC composition". Astronomy & Astrophysics 573: A71. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201424356. Bibcode: 2015A&A...573A..71K.
4. ↑ McCully, Curtis (2014). "A luminous, blue progenitor system for the type Iax supernova 2012Z". Nature 512 (7512): 54–56. doi:10.1038/nature13615. PMID 25100479. Bibcode: 2014Natur.512...54M.

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Stars

Formation|

* Accretion
* Molecular cloud
* Bok globule
* Young stellar object
* Protostar
* Pre-main-sequence
* Herbig Ae/Be
* T Tauri
* FU Orionis
* Herbig–Haro object
* Hayashi track
* Henyey track

Evolution|

* Main sequence
* Red-giant branch
* Horizontal branch
* Red clump
* Asymptotic giant branch
* Blue loop
* Protoplanetary nebula
* Planetary nebula
* PG1159
* Dredge-up
* Instability strip
* Luminous blue variable
* Blue straggler
* Stellar population
* Supernova
* Superluminous supernova / Hypernova

Spectral
classification|

* Early
* Late
* Main sequence
* O
* B
* A
* F
* G
* K
* M
* Brown dwarf
* WR
* OB
* Subdwarf
* O
* B
* Subgiant
* Giant
* Blue
* Red
* Yellow
* Bright giant
* Supergiant
* Blue
* Red
* Yellow
* Hypergiant
* Yellow
* Carbon
* S
* CN
* CH
* White dwarf
* Chemically peculiar
* Am
* Ap/Bp
* HgMn
* Helium-weak
* Barium
* Extreme helium
* Lambda Boötis
* Lead
* Technetium
* Be
* Shell
* B[e]

Remnants|

* White dwarf
* Helium planet
* Black dwarf
* Neutron
* Radio-quiet
* Pulsar
* Binary
* X-ray
* Magnetar
* Stellar black hole
* X-ray binary
* Burster

Hypothetical|

* Blue dwarf
* Green
* Black dwarf
* Exotic
* Boson
* Electroweak
* Strange
* Preon
* Planck
* Dark
* Dark-energy
* Quark
* Q
* Black
* Gravastar
* Frozen
* Quasi-star
* Thorne–Żytkow object
* Iron
* Blitzar

Stellar
nucleosynthesis|

* Deuterium burning
* Lithium burning
* Proton–proton chain
* CNO cycle
* Helium flash
* Triple-alpha process
* Alpha process
* Carbon burning
* Neon burning
* Oxygen burning
* Silicon burning
* S-process
* R-process
* Fusor
* Nova
* Symbiotic
* Remnant
* Luminous red nova

Structure|

* Core
* Convection zone
* Microturbulence
* Oscillations
* Radiation zone
* Atmosphere
* Photosphere
* Starspot
* Chromosphere
* Corona
* Stellar wind
* Bubble
* Bipolar outflow
* Accretion disk
* Asteroseismology
* Helioseismology
* Eddington luminosity
* Kelvin–Helmholtz mechanism

Properties|

* Designation
* Dynamics
* Effective temperature
* Luminosity
* Kinematics
* Magnetic field
* Absolute magnitude
* Mass
* Metallicity
* Rotation
* Starlight
* Variable
* Photometric system
* Color index
* Hertzsprung–Russell diagram
* Color–color diagram

Star systems|

* Binary
* Contact
* Common envelope
* Eclipsing
* Symbiotic
* Multiple
* Cluster
* Open
* Globular
* Super
* Planetary system

Earth-centric
observations|

* Sun
* Solar System
* Sunlight
* Pole star
* Circumpolar
* Constellation
* Asterism
* Magnitude
* Apparent
* Extinction
* Photographic
* Radial velocity
* Proper motion
* Parallax
* Photometric-standard

Lists|

* Proper names
* Arabic
* Chinese
* Extremes
* Most massive
* Highest temperature
* Largest volume
* Smallest volume
* Brightest
* Historical
* Most luminous
* Nearest
* Nearest bright
* With exoplanets
* Brown dwarfs
* White dwarfs
* Milky Way novae
* Supernovae
* Candidates
* Remnants
* Planetary nebulae
* Timeline of stellar astronomy

Related articles|

* Substellar object
* Brown dwarf
* Sub-brown dwarf
* Planet
* Galactic year
* Galaxy
* Guest
* Gravity
* Intergalactic
* Starfield
* Tidal disruption event

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